Don’t Stop the Music

YouTube app stops playing when minimized, switched to another application or when the phone is locked. Why can’t we play YouTube app in the background? Check out my study case and UX solution

The Problem

We all know this situation: you listen to your favorite song on YouTube app and suddenly you get a text message. Now you are facing a fateful dilemma: ignore the message or stop the music?

YouTube app stops playing when minimized, switched to another application or when the phone is locked. That means we cannot use another application on the phone while playing the music.

Why can’t we play YouTube app in the background? YouTube does not provide us with this feature because YouTube wants us to watch the full video by which YouTube generates its revenue.

The Solution

A brief online research suggested a variety of solutions in a form of external applications that enable playing YouTube videos in a floating window. I see this as a potential solution for the problem. The floating window will allow the app to fully function including audio and video while answering YouTube’s demands for advertising exposure.

In spite of the fact there are various existing solutions, they are not ideal. These solutions are inconvenient as they come in a form of external applications that do not sync with the YouTube playlists. Therefore, the irritating UX problem remains. Why not to make the solution as built-in feature on YouTube app?

The answer to this question is beyond my understanding. It is not clear why YouTube has not found a solution, since it’s a real UX problem, considering the fact that there are existing external solutions.

My first step: I started from visualizing the problem, and created a first sketch of the solution. Based on my drawings, the solution is adding a new button on the YouTube app, which will open a small floating window. The window will be adjustable in its position and size, and ultimately making it possible to use any other functions of the phone without interrupting the music video.

Next step: To create the final design and decide how it will work. I decided to use Figma program that I discovered only two weeks ago, to get experience on this platform. Overall it’s all new and very exciting for me :)

My work process in Figma:

My solution starts with adding a new button to the right bottom corner of YouTube app. I designed it to match the existing style with the iconic red color. This position of the button is common in many Google apps (and others), so the users recognize the option to open or add something new. During the planning process I decided to use this button to open a new floating window. It fits the expectation of opening something new. The location is also perfect for its convenient and noticeable place, because it will be used extensively and needs immediate and easy access due to the nature of its use (the instant need to use other apps without stopping YouTube).

Once clicked, the button opens a small floating window which only has the essential information and tools:​

• Title of the video.
• Basic player buttons (play / pause, next & previous).
• Track timeline.
• Enlarge window (which means going back to full screen app).
• X to close the app
• Menu for more options

After finishing the design using Figma and Photoshop, I used InVision Studio tool to create a prototype. Frankly, it was my first time using InVision, and it looks like I will be using it a lot from now on. And here is the result: https://invis.io/NSQX6EDCTEZ#/351269619_Android

That’s it for now! Thank you for reading, I hope you have enjoyed it. Please send me your comments and suggestions or just say hello:)