cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18477295
YouTube is now testing out a welcome feature, a sleep timer, but it only works on mobile and desktop, and only for Premium subscribers.
I didn’t know anybody still used the official Youtube client. Or cared about it.
I switched off from the official app back to Tubular, a NewPipe fork. I was always a NewPipe user but gave YouTube app the chance because I have a YouTube subscription( though, I mostly used it for YouTube Music). But even with a subscription, third party apps are much superior.
Their is no Sponserblock integration in official app. Plus Shorts and Games thrust on you. Oh, and did I mention whenever I go to certain channels, YouTube asks me if I wish to become a member of that channel for extra perks. Like, I just paid you money, Google, stop asking more.
Why is this even news? The intern can implement that feature in like 5 minutes.
It’s not technical news, It’s newsworthy because of the context.
Kind of like when people in the Soviet Union were allowed to grow vegetables in their own tiny plot of land for personal consumption: it was important because the Soviet Union denied people private ownership, but simply because everybody in the USSR was on the verge of dying of starvation any minute, the Soviets carved out a teeny tiny exception to the rule.
Everybody in the free world was completely nonplussed by the ability to grow your own veggies. But it made the news because it was the Soviet Union.
In this case, the stifling Google mothership implemented a teeny tiny something trivial on their platform, and it’s newsworthy because Google is the Soviet Union of the internet in more ways than one.
Of course, people with any sense of freedom and sanity consume Youtube videos with FreeTube, Grayjay, NewPipe, LibreTube, Piped, Invidious or whatever else and look at this thinking “So…?” But it’s newsworthy because it comes out of Google.
Fuck you Google. I buy your premium pro phones and watches (that you barely improve) and you want me to pay for basic features like PiP or the sleep timer?
Don’t be surprised that I use smartube, pipepipe, newpipe and others instead.
Since you mentioned watch, I was surprised that rumours said that Pixel Watch 3 will come with 24 Hr battery life, same as PW 2. That is even below Samsung, much less Oneplus or Ticwatch. Plus, they lock much data behind Fitbit’s paywall after granting a six month free subscription, I believe.
Wtf are they doing.
The Fitbit paywall is bullshit too. I don’t miss it at all with my pw1.
I have the first Google home with the screen. The second generation with sleep tracking looked nice but you need a monthly subscription… For using the damn sensor that you bought.
For the watches, it’s a shame that Google doesn’t seem to do anything to improve the amount of apps. There’s almost no apps for wearos. Maybe they could bribe some popular apps for a wearos version. Maybe try to create a momentum.
I like having a smart watch but it’s basically just for notifications, “fitness”, the weather and seeing my next calendar event.
Finally
They’re fixing the exploit The Spiffing Brit and others use.
