Google updates YouTube Android app with Google+ tie-in, notification drawer controls

Making its YouTube app for Android a little more powerful, Google today pushed a new update, further integrating its Google+ social platform and incorporating TV playback controls that can be easily accessed from the Notification Bar.

Slowly migrating YouTube accounts to Google Accounts and then Google+ sign-ins on its website, Google now leans on its social network for comments and account actions, using your real name when submitting a comment. The move follows Google’s insistence that users post Google Play reviews using their real names.

If you have paired the YouTube Android app with your smart TV, PlayStation 3 or Xbox, Google’s update also includes playback controls that can be accessed in the Notification Bar, turning it into a true second-screen app.

Google has also patched the annoying fullscreen video bug, which left users unable to view many YouTube videos in full landscape view on their devices when pushing the fullscreen button. It’s one of a few performance improvements that have users impressed with the new update.

➤ YouTube – Google Play

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