YouTube has been rumored to be launching its own music service, and I even talked about why it’s probably not going to happen.
However, thanks to the work of a popular Android blog, the music service appears to be real.
Android Police often does APK teardowns, which are essentially where they dive deeper into an app, and what may be hidden behind the scenes.
In the latest YouTube Android app, several strings hint at a “Music Pass” service:
- <string name=”music_pass”>Music Pass</string>
- <string name=”offline_playback”>Offline playback</string>
- <string name=”offline_playback_details”>Take your music everywhere</string>
- <string name=”background_listening”>Background listening</string>
- <string name=”background_listening_details”>Keep your music playing while using other apps</string>
- <string name=”uninterrupted_music”>Uninterrupted music</string>
- <string name=”uninterrupted_music_details”>No ads on millions of songs</string>
With phrases like “Take your music everywhere” and “No ads on millions of songs,” it doesn’t take much investigating to understand what YouTube is talking about.
Android Police also discovered more details about offline video playback, and several strings particularly stood out:
- <string name=”offline_expired”>Offline version expired</string>
- <string name=”cannot_watch_offline”>This video can’t be watched offline</string>
- <string name=”add_playlist_to_offline_start”>Adding playlist to offline…</string>
- <string name=”offline_video_expired_confirmation”>Offline version expired. Reconnect to check availability.</string>
YouTube announced offline video playback in September, and it appears users will also be able to store complete playlists of videos offline.
“Offline version expired” hints directly at the 48-hour limitation on videos stored offline.
With YouTube having to compete with the likes of Spotify or iTunes Radio, it’ll be interesting to see how or if the video site differentiates itself from the competition.
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