YouTube’s latest update solves a surprisingly annoying TV problem

Edgar Cervantes / Android AuthorityTL;DR YouTube’s new companion experience lets your phone automatically recognize what’s playing on your TV when both devices use the same account. You can use your phone to comment, subscribe, browse, search, and even scroll through Shorts without interrupting the video playing on your TV. You can also send videos from your phone directly to the TV, and the two devices don’t need to be on the same Wi-Fi network. Watching YouTube on a TV is great, but interacting with anything on the screen is a different story. Maybe you want to leave a comment, subscribe to the channel, read the description, or figure out what to watch next. Suddenly, you’re pecking away at an on-screen keyboard with a TV remote, and the phone sitting comfortably in your hand starts looking like the much better option. That’s exactly the problem YouTube is trying to solve with its latest update. The company is giving its TV and mobile apps a much tighter connection, effectively turning your phone into a companion for whatever is playing on the big screen. Better still, setup is minimal. Your phone and TV don’t even need to be on the same Wi-Fi network. As long as you’re signed into the same YouTube account on both devices, your phone can recognize what’s playing on the TV and automatically bring up a companion panel.Shimul Sood / Android AuthorityOnce that happens, you can leave the TV to handle the video and use your phone for pretty much everything else. You can like what you’re watching, jump into the comments, subscribe to the creator, or dig through the description, all without pausing the video or getting in the way of everyone else watching.And that becomes even more useful when you want to look for something else. Say you’re halfway through a 30-minute travel vlog with friends and someone mentions another destination you want to check out. Instead of backing out of the video and taking over the TV, you can search for it on your phone while the original video keeps playing. You can even browse Shorts in the meantime without affecting what’s happening on the big screen.Then, when you do find something everyone wants to watch, getting it onto the TV is just as easy. Tap the three-dot menu next to a video on your phone, choose Play on different device, and send it straight to the TV. I can see this being particularly handy when everyone is taking turns picking music videos, trailers, or whatever random YouTube rabbit hole the evening has turned into.You’re not stuck inside the companion panel while doing all of this, either. You can keep using the YouTube app on your phone normally, and whenever you want to control what’s playing on the TV again, tapping the devices icon at the top of the Home tab brings the panel back.That flexibility is probably what I appreciate most about the update. I already tend to reach for my phone when watching YouTube on a TV because searching, typing, and reading comments are easier. Rather than making you choose between the two devices, YouTube is finally letting each one do what it’s best at. And while that may sound like a fairly simple upgrade, it should make watching YouTube on a TV much more convenient.Thank you for being part of our community. Read our Comment Policy before posting.