YouTube now lets you download Shorts on your phone: Here's how

YouTube has announced new features that will make it easier for viewers to watch their favorite Shorts anytime without having to worry about internet connectivity. The company today announced a new experimental feature called ‘Smart Downloads for YouTube Shorts’. This feature lets users download Shorts on their smartphones for watching whenever they are offline or not connected to the internet. But there’s a catch.

This feature is still in the experimental stage and available to YouTube Premium subscribers only. Additionally, the company has revealed that Smart Downloads for YouTube Shorts is available on Android until July 15 only. iOS users will not be able to access this feature. While this limited availability may seem counterintuitive, but it just shows that this feature is still in the testing phase and that the company will announce a wider roll out once it is done ironing out all the bugs.

YouTube hacks: How to download Shorts on your phone?

Step 1: Open YouTube on a web browser.

Step 2: Sign up for YouTube Premium through the YouTube New page. Alternatively, you can use this link to go to the page: https://www.youtube.com/new.

Step 3: Tap the Get Premium button on top and then sign up for the service.

Step 4: Now go to the Downloads section of your You Tab.

Step 5: Scroll down to the ‘Smart Downloads’ section.

Step 6: If you have recently viewed YouTube Shorts, you will see Shorts that have been automatically downloaded for offline viewing.

YouTube Shorts gets Picture-in-Picture Mode

Shorts on YouTube Premium is also getting support for picture-in-picture or PiP Mode. YouTube says that on Android devices, users can watch their favorite Shorts while browsing other apps or checking messages. “It’s perfect for staying entertained without missing a beat,” the company wrote in a blog post.

Jump Ahead in YouTube videos

Lastly, YouTube has rolled out a feature called Jump Ahead that lets users skip ahead to the best parts of a video while using YouTube Premium. YouTube says that when users double-tap to skip ahead in a video, they will see a ‘Jump Ahead’ button. This button will take them to move ahead in the video.

This feature uses a combination of AI and viewership data, and it is available to all YouTube Premium subscribers on Android in the US. YouTube plans to roll it out to iOS users in the coming weeks.