YouTube Go is dead, and you can probably blame YouTube Premium

YouTube Go might be not an app that a lot of our US readers are conversant in, given its singular deal with the growing world, however it scored greater than 500 million downloads in its six years of existence. It is also useless. YouTube not too long ago introduced the app will likely be shutting down this August.

YouTube Go was the herald for Google’s “subsequent billion customers” plan in 2016. Whenever you’re as huge as Google and depend “most Web customers” as your buyer base, the easiest way to chase progress is to get extra individuals on the Web. The consequence was a number of “Go”-branded merchandise, which focused low-end gadgets with restricted Web entry. One of many largest growing markets was India.

With YouTube Go shutting down, YouTube cites enhancements in the primary YouTube app as the first purpose. The corporate says the primary app has seen “improved efficiency for entry-level gadgets or those who watch YouTube on slower networks.” YouTube says the primary app additionally has “a greater general consumer expertise [and] presents options that aren’t out there on YouTube Go that many have requested for—similar to the power to remark, publish, create content material, and use darkish theme.”

YouTube Go’s headline characteristic of offline video entry just isn’t talked about in the neighborhood publish. YouTube Go was truly a wild deviation from the traditional YouTube system, because of being focused at customers with intermittent Web entry. Even in 2016, Go customers may truly obtain and save YouTube movies for later offline viewing. The thought is that if you did not have Web entry at residence, you would go to a spot with Web and obtain movies for later.

In an try and make YouTube’s viral video sharing work with out the Web, you would even share these movies offline—the app may create an ad-hoc community between two YouTube Go gadgets, permitting for native file transfers that had been approach speedier than the Web. The offline movies got here with some DRM, after all, and would self-destruct in case you did not connect with the Web periodically.

YouTube says the mainline YouTube app is performant sufficient that “Go” is now not mandatory, however what in regards to the offline video options? It doesn’t sound like these are coming again. YouTube says it’s “constructing out further consumer controls that assist to lower cell information utilization for viewers with restricted information,” however that does not sound like offline utilization or sharing options.

The principle YouTube app truly does help offline movies, however that characteristic is locked behind the “YouTube Premium” paywall, and it sounds just like the plan is to extra aggressively push that to customers. YouTube Premium launched in India in 2019 at approach cheaper costs than what the corporate fees within the US. The US YouTube Premium is $12 a month, whereas in India this system is 129 rupees a month, or about $1.69. Simply 4 months in the past, Google launched yearly YouTube Premium plans in India, for 1,159 rupees ($15.20 for the entire yr).

The provision of offline movies totally free through the Go app was a substantial strike in opposition to the YouTube Premium gross sales pitch, however now it seems to be like Google is, uh, “fixing” that drawback.

Itemizing picture by YouTube