Google has released significant update to YouTube for Apple TV, overhauling the user interface with an entirely new design that’s more resemblant of the user interface found in the YouTube apps on other platforms, and a departure from the more traditional Apple TV UI layout that YouTube had been following since the days before the tvOS App Store was unveiled two years ago.
The new YouTube tvOS app now features more prominent recommendation lists and categories along with a menu that appears on and slides in from the right, rather than a top menu bar. A new option in the app’s settings also brings the ability to cast from the YouTube iOS app — a feature that’s long been available in the YouTube app on other platforms, but has been conspicuously missing from the tvOS version before now.
Despite the significant new design, however, the app does not appear to leverage any more tvOS-specific features, lacking support for the Top Shelf for example, although Siri searches still work as before. Further, as 9to5Mac notes, the new YouTube app does not yet appear to support 4K video playback on the new Apple TV 4K, even though videos are shown with a “4K” badge on them.