Damien Wilde / Android Authority
TL;DR
- YouTube is adding a few experimental features including Sleep Timer, Dream Screen, and an AI that answers questions about videos.
- Sleep Timer, Dream Screen, and the bot are available until September 2, August 20, and August 21, respectively.
- Only YouTube Premium subscribers will be able to try these features.
Back in June, Android Authority conducted an APK teardown that revealed YouTube was working on a sleep timer feature. That feature is now live as an experiment and is being joined by two other new features.
In a new blog post, YouTube lists three new experimental features YouTube Premium subscribers will be able to try out. These experiments are available now, but only for a limited time.
The first of these features finally gives users a sleep timer aptly called Sleep Timer. On mobile or on desktop, you’ll be able to find Sleep Timer within the settings menu. When used, Sleep Timer will automatically pause the video that’s playing after a set amount of time. If you’re like me and like to fall asleep to something on in the background, then this is the long-awaited feature you’ve been hoping for.
The second feature (pictured below) is called Dream Screen and its aimed toward creators. As YouTube describes it, this feature belongs to the mobile app and allows users to create green screen backgrounds with the help of AI. To access it, you’ll need to tap on the + icon to open the Shorts camera, tap on the green screen option, and then tap sparkle button. The company notes that you’ll need to use English to create backgrounds as no other languages are supported at the moment.
The third and final feature, exclusively on mobile, is designed to answer any questions you may have about a video without interrupting video playback. In addition to answering questions, it can also provide recommendations. It appears this feature won’t appear on every video, but for the videos that are eligible, there will be an “Ask” field right below the video. You’ll be presented preset prompts, but you can also enter in your own prompts.
As mentioned earlier, these features won’t stay around for forever. Sleep Timer will be available until September 2, we’ll lose Dream Screen after August 20, and the answer bot will last until August 21.