An all-new Shorts carousel is being tested by YouTube

Although Google is a major player in the advertising industry, consumer-facing products like YouTube, the Pixel smartphone line, Google Drive cloud storage, and the Workspace app suite also contribute to Google’s online presence. YouTube is a famous entertainment app on Android. It is considered as the largest app that features user-generated video content.

But lately, the platform has been more focused on Shorts, which are short videos with an Instagram-like framework. We recently saw a new carousel pushing these videos. In 2020, YouTube introduced Shorts in competition to TikTok. In an effort to retain users on the platform, the company integrated Shorts into the YouTube app. The app was updated to accommodate Shorts under a dedicated tab. The Shorts appear in the form of horizontally-scrolling videos on the homepage. It is found on TV as well.

Recently, Google shared that per day Shorts have average 70 billion views. According to Google, more than 25% of YouTube Partner Program channels monetize their short videos. Nevertheless, Shorts was always intended to be viewed on mobile devices. The videos are in portrait orientation, and if you decide not to watch the entire 60-second piece, you may swipe up to see the next reel. Because of this, it is inappropriate for large-screen devices like PCs and TVs, because the majority of the screen is wasted.

On the YouTube web, the recommended video section now shows a new element for Shorts. It was spotted by Android Police. Below the first recommended video, preview of three Shorts appear. It is accompanied by an arrow-shaped button on the right. When the Theater mode was switched to full-width playback, the Shorts shelf position was lowered. It means that it is permanently attached to the recommendation sidebar. The shelf doesn’t appear in the Theater mode. Well, this change is a bit distracting. It appears like the company is pulling users away from long-from content.