Facebook is changing the way you watch videos on your smartphone. Most significantly: videos in the News Feed now automatically play with sound.
Here are all four changes Facebook announced today.
1. News Feed Videos: Now With Sound
Until now, videos played silently. You had to tap on a video for sound.
Well, Facebook is about to get a lot noisier.
Said Facebook: “As people watch more video on phones, they’ve come to expect sound when the volume on their device is turned on.”
Really? Who are these people? Is this an alternative fact? Sorry, go on…
“After testing sound on in News Feed and hearing positive feedback, we’re slowly bringing it to more people,” Facebook continued. “With this update, sound fades in and out as you scroll through videos in News Feed, bringing those videos to life.”
And annoying the people around them.
Thankfully, there is an option to turn off sound. But, as usual, Facebook does it backward. Rather than allowing users to elect to have sound on, it forces every user who doesn’t want it to go into their settings to turn off yet another annoying default feature.
Also, if your phone is set to silent, your Facebook videos will also be silent.
2. A New Vertical Videos Format
Vertical videos now more easily expand to full screen, whether you’re watching on iOS or Android.
Facebook has also added a new progress bar and thumbnail when you’re in full-screen.
3. Picture-in-Picture
You can now keep watching a video as you scroll through your News Feed with Facebook’s new picture-in-picture feature. Or even when you’re outside the Facebook app, if you’re using an Android device.
Thumbs up. This is a nice addition for anyone who has ever wanted to keep listening to or watching a video while also browsing through the News Feed.
Simply minimize and drag the video to any corner of the screen. It will keep playing.
4. New Facebook Video App for TV
Ever wanted to watch pixelated dashcam videos of epic Russian car crashes on your television? Facebook has you covered.
The social network announced a new Facebook video app that will be available in the app stores for Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung Smart TV.
“You can watch videos shared by friends or Pages you follow, top live videos from around the world, and recommended videos based on your interests,” according to Facebook. “You can also catch up on videos you’ve saved to watch later, as well as revisit videos you’ve watched, shared or uploaded.”
Image Credit: Facebook
