Back in May Google asked Microsoft to pull the official YouTube app they had built for Windows Phone 8 because it apparently violated Google’s TOS by not displaying ads with the videos.
After a bit of back and forth Microsoft eventually pulled the app from the Windows Phone store.
Apparently the two companies have been working together over the last 3 months to bring an updated version of the app to Windows Phone 8 users.
As I installed and tried out the updated app it signed me in directly with my Google Gmail account that I have on the phone however, that is not the one I use for my videos so I did have to log out and then log back in with my Google credentials. After that log in and validation I was able to pick the channel I wanted the app to use by default.
Google is still not happy when you want to use anything other than your Google account name and picture for your YouTube channel.
Anyway, here is a screenshot tour around the app:
When you open the app it begins on your subscription page to show you the latest videos from the channels you follow.
Next over on the slide from right to left are trending videos.
Next comes the browse screen where you can track down videos based on several subject areas as well as view recommended channels.
The recommended video page appears if you are not subscribed to any other channels.
Tapping the shadow avatar brings up your channel page with several options such as favorites, watch later, history, likes, playlists, uploads and subscriptions.
By tapping your channel name on that page you will get into your YouTube channel where you can browse through your uploads, playlists, activity and see your About page for the channel.
Here is what a video play page looks like with the now included ad on the video pre-roll and yes you can skip them after so many seconds just like on the desktop.
App settings page
App about page – notice the specific quote about not being affiliated or sponsored by YouTube?
Download the YouTube App for Windows Phone.
