YouTube expands redesigned web player with Material Design 3 and new controls

YouTube has enhanced its redesigned web media player, expanding its availability beyond the initial limited release from April. The updated interface, inspired by Material Design 3, now features pill-shaped control buttons and refreshed action icons in the bottom corners, making them more prominent with increased size and contrast.

In addition to these visual changes, the new web player reintroduces the ability to adjust volume using the mouse scroll or by hovering over the volume slider, a feature previously missed by many users. In the controls section, YouTube has emphasized the Play and Pause button in the bottom left, while removing the Next button that was previously nearby. Instead, a new clickable timestamp button is now available, allowing viewers to toggle between elapsed time and time remaining in a video with a simple click on the timestamp display.

Following these updates, Theater mode has replaced Cinema mode. When activated, Theater mode shows a downward arrow below the player, and users can click this arrow or scroll upward to open the More videos panel below the current video. Although the new interface offers several modernizations, the removal of the Next button has been noted by users, who may anticipate further updates.