YouTube has rolled out a new feature for its Connected TV (CTV) experience, allowing users to control their viewing session directly from their smartphones instead of relying solely on a remote control. The update addresses a long-standing frustration for TV viewers who found actions like typing comments, reading video descriptions, or subscribing to channels cumbersome with a standard remote.
Seamless Phone-to-TV Syncing
With this update, viewers can now sync their phones to their TV sessions to access engagement features such as comments, likes, and subscriptions in real time, all without interrupting what’s playing on the big screen. Notably, YouTube has also eliminated the previous requirement for phones and TVs to share the same Wi-Fi network or be manually connected, making the setup process far simpler for users.
While using their phones, viewers can continue browsing other parts of the YouTube app, including searching for new videos or watching Shorts, and can send content straight to their TV from their homepage feed using a simple menu option.
Part of a Broader CTV Push
This update fits into YouTube’s ongoing push to enhance its Connected TV offering, which has become a major growth area for the platform. The company noted that people now watch more than a billion hours of YouTube content on TVs daily. Recent additions have included podcast viewing, account locking controls, and channel-specific video stations. YouTube has also been expanding AI-powered search capabilities to smart TVs, previously limited to devices with microphone-equipped remotes. This new phone-control feature extends similar advanced functionality to a much broader range of TV viewers, regardless of their smart TV model.