What’s New in Play

Ability to set your favorite channels to automatically save new videos for later when refreshing Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
Customize Tags, Smart Search, and folders with colors and icons of your choice.
New “Scheduled for Date” attribute indicating when upcoming video broadcasts are scheduled to begin.
Smart Search now supports filtering by Date Watched.
Smart Search now supports filtering by Date Scheduled.
Smart Search now supports filtering videos with no ratings.

Channels Inbox now supports Vimeo creators, letting you receive new videos from both YouTube and Vimeo in a unified feed.PLAY PREMIUM
New Get Video Transcript action to retrieve the transcript of any YouTube video for your automated workflows in Shortcuts.PLAY PREMIUM
Transitions throughout the app now animate more smoothly.
Performance improvement when selecting a Tag folder.
Fixed an issue where videos from playlists remained in Channels Inbox after saving for later.PLAY PREMIUM
Fixed an issue where the share sheet was unexpectedly dismissed when sharing a video to an app that requires text input, like Messages or Mail.

Introducing Transcripts: Play now provides interactive transcripts, letting us navigate the video by tapping any phrase. Transcripts are also searchable, making it easy to find and jump to specific parts of the video.PLAY PREMIUM
In addition to syncing data with iCloud, Play now also automatically backs up daily to iCloud Drive for extra protection.
Fixed an issue where Smart Search in some cases could filter items incorrectly based on tags.

Channels Inbox now updates 2x to 4x faster.PLAY PREMIUM
Performance improvements when selecting a Tag or Smart Search folder.
Fixed a rare issue that prevented signing-in with a YouTube account.
Stability improvements.

Fixed an issue where a small number of specific videos could be incorrectly categorized as YouTube Shorts. They are now correctly classified and will appear in your Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
Apple Vision Pro users can now configure the video player size in Settings → Video Player.

Channels Inbox can now hide all shorts, including those without #shorts in the title. Go to Settings → Channels Inbox → General Filters to configure.PLAY PREMIUM
Improved performance when refreshing the Channels Inbox, especially for users following many channels.PLAY PREMIUM
You can now select a custom color for Tags using the system color picker.
Ability to configure the video player size on the iPad, available in Settings → Video Player.
Ability to choose if Play should remember your playback position automatically. Go to Settings → Video Player to configure.
Ability to play/pause videos using the space bar on connected keyboards.
Fixed an issue that prevented Play from following a channel shared through the Share Sheet from other apps.

Polished Recap animations.
Polished app text in several areas for greater clarity.
Users who previously enabled the Delete Watched parameter now can view and adjust it in Settings → Video Player.
Fixed an issue where updates to an auto-tagging condition would not be reflected in the UI.
Fixed support for Apple TV content.

Time to look back at the year’s highlights! Go to Settings → Annual Recap to view your 2024 Recap.
Redesigned the Manage Tags view to support folders and search.PLAY PREMIUM
Redesigned Tag menus throughout the app to support folders.PLAY PREMIUM

By default, Play will now open the video when adding via the Share button from other apps. You can configure the default behavior in Settings → General.
Small and medium widgets can now use the system background color.
Ability to customise the “Show Video” shortcut action to either open the item in its source app or view it in Play.
New shortcut action to add or edit notes for a video.
Pinned items will no longer appear in both the Pinned section and the corresponding Tags or Smart Searches section in the Start Screen.

Support for playback speeds faster than 2x. To configure, go to Settings → Video Player.
Better chapter extraction from video descriptions with some specific formats.PLAY PREMIUM
New button for moving a channel to a folder from within the context menu.PLAY PREMIUM
Ability to unfollow a channel without exiting the search results in Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
Temporarily remove support for widget accented mode due to a system issue that stops links from opening their associated items.
Editing an Auto-Tagging condition and changing the 'When' attribute no longer unnecessarily clears the 'Contains' field.
Fixed an issue that caused videos marked as watched through Shortcuts to not update the Date Watched attribute correctly.

Channels InboxPLAY PREMIUM

You can now customize the double-tap gesture between “Save for Later”, “Watch on YouTube”, or “Watch in App”. To configure, go to Settings → Channels Inbox → Gestures.
Related settings are now conveniently accessible in Settings → Channels Inbox.
Chapters and Recommendations are now displayed when previewing new videos that were not saved for later.
When importing from Google Takeout, you now have the option to overwrite existing channels. This will remove any channels you follow in Play that are not included in your Google Takeout archive.
Included the ability to add a channel to a folder right when following it.

Video Details

The video player now shows a warning when the creator disabled watching outside YouTube.
Added a dedicated button to open the video in its source app. To configure, go to Settings → Video Details → Actions.
Added the ability to edit video description.
Fixed an issue where video notes could briefly duplicate while typing.

Auto-Tagging

Saving an Auto-Tagging will now automatically apply it to existing videos.

Support for tinted widgets.
Fix a bug that could cause some recommended videos to miss metadata during addition.

Chapters and Timestamps: Play will detect and extract chapters listed in the video description, enabling you to easily navigate to specific sections.PLAY PREMIUM
Recommended By: Likewise, videos suggested by the creator in the description are now shown in a dedicated section, making it easier to add them to your queue.PLAY PREMIUM
The video player now stays visible while scrolling through the description and other video attributes.
Improvements in playback position syncing.
Stability was greatly improved on the iPad.

Play 2.3.0 adds support for the latest features introduced in iOS and iPadOS 18. It offers controls for Control Center, includes new app icons that match your Home Screen style, and deeply integrates with Spotlight. It also brings new forms of interaction via App Shortcuts that allows you to add and retrieve data using Siri, Spotlight, the Shortcuts app, and more. And you can now translate video descriptions to your preferred language. Check out the dedicated page to learn more about the new features introduced in this update.

New setting for inline video playback on iPhone. Go to Settings → Video Player → Auto Enter Fullscreen to configure.
New button to watch in Picture in Picture (PiP) mode. By default, PiP automatically starts when you swipe away a fullscreen video, but you can now also activate it from the player’s toolbar (Player Settings → Enter PiP).
iPad now uses the native system player when watching in fullscreen.
iPad now takes advantage of all available space to display video details and the inline player.
iPad now properly supports Picture in Picture (PiP) mode.
The player now saves your playback position when exiting the detail view as well as when pausing the video.
The modal video details screen (available only when “Tap to Watch” is enabled in Settings → Video List) now uses the app’s tint color.

Built-in Player: The video player now features a new toolbar to control playback, skip back and forward, adjust speed, and more.
In Progress: A new playlist for videos you’ve started but haven’t finished.
Playback Speed: You can now change the playback speed for all videos in Settings → Video Player.
Fixed an issue where videos from channels with similar names were displayed under both channels in the “New by Creator” section.

New option to show video descriptions in Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
Moved the Edit button to the top bar in Channels Inbox for easier access.PLAY PREMIUM
Added a “New Folder” button to the Channels Inbox menu for quick access.PLAY PREMIUM
The video description is now directly below the artwork and title for better visibility.
Added a quick view option for notes when tapping and holding a video.
The Show Full Title preference configured in Settings → Video Details → Metadata is now separate from the one in the video list.
Play now suggests channels as you type when setting an Auto-Tagging condition by channel.
New URL scheme for viewing video details: play://view?id=
Improved iconography to clarify certain actions.
Added “Open Details” as a swipe option in lists.

Fixed an issue that could group videos from channels with similar names in the New by Channel section.

Pinned Tags and Smart Searches now sync across platforms, and there’s no limit to the number of items you can pin.
You can now follow a channel by searching its name, without needing to copy and paste the URL (though that’s still an option if you want to follow a specific channel directly).PLAY PREMIUM
Redesigned My Channels view to highlight the different options for following channels and playlists.PLAY PREMIUM

New option to hide titles in grid view, for a cleaner look.
The notes text editor now features live markdown syntax highlighting and improved controls.
New option in Settings → Video Details → Metadata to always show the full video description.
Search now offers title, channel, notes, description, and tag as categories for more granular control.
Manage Videos now offers more filters and lets you play all selected videos on YouTube.
Deleting items is now safer and less likely to be done accidentally.
New button to edit a video’s channel by touching and holding it in Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
You can now choose a tag when saving multiple videos in Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
Revamped UI when adding items from the share sheet.
Added links to some examples of shortcuts you can create using Play’s actions in the Help section.
Improved Play’s initial launch experience.

New optional layout for Channels Inbox that groups new videos by channel and provides categories such as All, Today, and Slow Feeds.PLAY PREMIUM
You can now organize your Channels Inbox subscriptions into folders.PLAY PREMIUM
Channels Inbox now supports per-channel settings to filter new videos according to their title and description.PLAY PREMIUM
Added the ability to edit the channel name in Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
Performance improvements when refreshing Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
New button in the video’s context menu to quickly filter by that creator.

Over 2x faster performance when finding new videos from channels you follow in Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
Fixed an issue where the Delete Videos Above would be disabled after saving a video for later using the double tap or swipe gesture.PLAY PREMIUM

Fixed an issue where the app could crash when launched by users with numerous tags and tag folders.

You can now customize the sorting order of your Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
Added the ability to share the video directly from Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
New button for adding a tag to a video saved for later when swiping in Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
Tag and Smart Search folders can now be edited and deleted from the sidebar.PLAY PREMIUM
Tag folders now display the item count.PLAY PREMIUM
The video list now indicates which videos have a star rating or notes.
Included buttons to help with Markdown formatting while editing a note.
The Find Video shortcut action now supports filtering by URL.
Resolved a problem where the Manage Tags screen would unexpectedly close while modifying video tags.
Resolved a problem where the New by Creator section would lost the selected item when changing the count of videos to watch.

The list of supported streaming services has been significantly expanded. If Play couldn't fetch metadata for a video you tried to add before, there's a good chance it can now handle it.
Play now also supports a wide range of content types, including articles, posts, and so on. This opens up various possibilities, such as saving links to movie reviews, Instagram Reels, social network posts with an embedded video, and so on.
New context menu action available in Channels Inbox to Delete Videos Above.PLAY PREMIUM

The video player now dynamically expands to fit the available space, ideal for a more immersive experience on iPad.

You can now choose between Thumbnail and Color & Icon for the Tag, Smart Search, and Creator sections on the Start Screen. Go to Settings → Start Screen to configure.
Improved the UI for managing Tag and Smart Search folders in Settings.
Settings now shows a live preview of the selected layout.
Improved animations throughout the app.
Fixed an issue that could cause the Watched list to not be sorted in reverse chronological order.

Shared videos now include the Start At attribute in the URL.
Added a shortcut action to recover recently removed videos from your Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
Fixed an issue when trying to add items from Disney+.
Fixed an issue that could cause performance issues when importing channels from Google Takeout.PLAY PREMIUM

Import your YouTube channels using Google Takeout.PLAY PREMIUM
Select and manipulate multiple videos at once in the Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
The Start Screen now shows thumbnails for each Tag, Smart Search, and Creator.
You can now view the number of videos on each Smart Search.
Watch a random new item when pressing and holding a Tag or Smart Search.
Fixed an issue where Smart Searches, when filtering by durations shorter than a specified amount, failed to save the selected comparison condition.

Follow YouTube playlists: you can now follow a specific playlist to get new videos as they are published.PLAY PREMIUM
Pin up to two Tags or Smart Searches at the top of the start screen for quick access.
Smart Search now supports filtering by video duration, description, and URL.
Smart Search now supports filtering videos that do not include a specific tag.
Smart Search now supports customizing the criteria between Contains and Doesn’t Contains when filtering by video title, channel, description, URL, or notes.
Drag and drop a tag into a video to assign while in grid view.
New Watch in App button when pressing and holding a video throughout the app.
The Actions section now shows a button to quickly access Manage Videos.
New Set Start At Position shortcut to save the current playback position for the video that’s currently playing, or for a specific video by ID.
Fix: dragging a video to a tag no longer changes its added time and status.

Customize swipe gestures in the Channels Inbox list. Go to Channels → More → Swipe Actions... to customize.PLAY PREMIUM
Tags now show their associated folder names across the app.PLAY PREMIUM
Quickly create or update an Auto-Tagging rule for a specific channel. Press and hold a tag in the Manage Tags view to use.
Support for watching videos in the DuckDuckGo browser. Configure in Settings → General → Watch With.
Fixed an issue that caused the iPad app to don’t play videos in fullscreen when Stage Manager was active.

Added the ability to watch new videos from your channels inline, without having to first save them for later.PLAY PREMIUM
The Get Videos shortcut action now supports filtering by multiple tags.
List and Dense List layouts can now show the complete video title. Configure in Settings → Video List.
Fixed a crash when trying to set the Start At attribute on videos that have a 0:00 length.

Interactive widget for tracking newly released videos from channels you follow.PLAY PREMIUM
Added an option to show the full video title in the Channels Inbox.PLAY PREMIUM
Added Date Watched as a possible attribute for filtering and sorting videos in the Find Video shortcut action.
You can now quickly follow a channel from the video details screen.PLAY PREMIUM
Rows in the New by Channel section now support the Play All New on YouTube action.
Fix: When the Mark as Watched parameter is enabled, selecting Play All New on YouTube will now accurately play the selected tag and smart search.
Fix: The Channels Inbox status bar now converts the elapsed time into hours if it has been more than 60 minutes since the last update.

Follow channels from your existing videos in Manage Channels → Import From URL → Add Existing Channels.PLAY PREMIUM
You can now merge two different Tags. Go to Settings → Tags, touch and hold one and select Merge...PLAY PREMIUM
Configure a custom Piped/Invidious instance to watch videos.
New action to delete YouTube channels from the Shortcuts app.PLAY PREMIUM
Keep up with all the latest updates with the new What’s New in Play document, available in Settings → What’s New.
Bug Fix: Resolved an issue where deleted videos could reappear in the Channels Inbox.

This update improves the in-app player experience:

AirPlay support.
Picture in Picture (PiP) support on the iPhone.
Fullscreen support on the iPad.
Touch and hold the Start At button to set it as the currently running time.

It also adds the ability to create an Auto-Tag rule based on the video description.

Added double tap gesture to add a video from Inbox to watch later.PLAY PREMIUM
The Actions section in the start screen now features a button to open a random new video.
Playing all new videos now gives you the option to watch without marking them as watched when the Mark as Watched parameter is active.
Fix: Importing videos from a playlist no longer duplicates existing videos.

Play 2.0 brings the ability to follow YouTube channels and get new videos as they're released. You can save the ones you want to watch, and delete the rest. It integrates harmoniously with the existing feature set, allowing you to have a complete YouTube experience within the app - get new videos, save, organize, and watch without algorithms!
It also adds the ability to create folders for Tags and Smart Searches, giving you more ways to catalog and organize your videos.
These features are part of Play Premium, a subscription designed for features that extend Play's capabilities beyond saving videos for later. It brings a more sustainable business model to the app and allows me to invest in more advanced features, ensuring the app's long-term development.