YouTube has announced that the way video comments are presented on desktops will be changing.
YouTube has announced that a single comment will be displayed below the new teaser presentation video. When expanded or clicked, the comments will open to the right of the playback window in a static motion, similar to how live comments are displayed.
Tap on that comment and it opens a new comment panel, which displays all of the video comments below the clip, which you can then scroll through.
On desktop right now, all video comments appear below the video player, but soon, you’ll only see a single comment, which, when tapped, will open up a new comments stream at the right of the playback. On desktop right now, all video comments appear below the video player, but soon, you’ll only see a single comment, which, when tapped, will open up a new comments stream at the right of the playback.
Users will soon be able to scroll through the comments at the right of the main screen, rather than scrolling downwards to glance through the responses, as shown here.
The purpose of this new style, according to YouTube, is to allow users to continue watching the video while scanning over the numerous comments, providing more context in a more integrated experience. The upgrade will also bring the company’s mobile and desktop user interfaces closer together.
That makes sense, and it does make it easier to scan over the comments while the video is playing. It’ll just take some getting used to, and many users may be unhappy with the change at first because it will need new app usage practices.