YouTube is testing a new floating “Play Something” button in its Android app, according to a report by 9to5Google.
Positioned just above the app’s bottom navigation bar, the button randomly selects and plays a video with a single tap.
Unlike previous versions of the feature, the current test uses YouTube’s Shorts player to present the selected content, regardless of whether it’s a vertically formatted Short or a standard video. This blending of formats has raised some eyebrows, with users hoping for a more refined implementation by the time the feature rolls out widely.
This isn’t YouTube’s first attempt to help users discover content randomly. Over the past year, the platform has tested a variety of “Play Something” designs, including a banner and a black-and-white button resembling the YouTube logo.
The concept may sound familiar to streaming enthusiasts—Netflix introduced a similar feature in 2021, also called “Play Something,” before retiring it last year under the name “Surprise Me.”
With YouTube’s latest test, the platform seems determined to make video discovery more effortless, though it remains to be seen how users will react to this new take on random selection.
