Current:Home > NewsWhy does the Facebook app look different? Meta rolling out new, fullscreen video player -Pinnacle Profit Strategies
Why does the Facebook app look different? Meta rolling out new, fullscreen video player
View
Date:2025-04-26 12:28:17
Facebook is shaking up the way it plays and suggests videos.
The Meta-owned social media platform is rolling out a new fullscreen player for all of its videos (think short-form Reels, longer videos and live videos) with “more relevant” artificial intelligence-powered video recommendations.
The goal is to make exploring and sharing all types of videos easier, according to Jagjit Chawla, Facebook’s vice president of product.
"People are embracing vertical video," Chawla told USA TODAY. "We are just embracing the change and making sure it's much easier for consumers to consume video."
Facebook plans to roll out the upgraded video player on iOS and Android in the U.S. and Canada over the next few weeks and globally in the coming months.
Facebook's plans for video
The announcement comes just one month after Tom Alison, the head of Facebook, said the social media platform was working on a new AI model to power its "entire video ecosystem," not just Reels.
The new model is part of Meta's “technology roadmap” through 2026, Alison said during a Morgan Stanley conference in early March. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg earlier this year hinted that the tech company is investing billions in AI technology.
“If we get this right, not only will the recommendations be more engaging and more relevant, but we think the responsiveness of them can improve as well,” Alison said at the conference. "So if you see something that you're into in Reels and then you go back to Feed, we can kind of show you more similar content."
Alison said the new "model architecture" was tested with Facebook Reels and led to roughly an 8% to 10% gain in watch time.
The updates Facebook is rolling out ‒ including improved video recommendations ‒ are just one step in the plan Alison outlined at the conference.
What’s new from Facebook's video player?
Previously, clicking on a video in the Facebook app may have pulled up a horizontal video, or one that played in a Feed-like player. Now, all videos, no matter how long, will expand into a vertical, fullscreen video once selected.
Facebook users can also expect to see more Reels in their feed; the company says it plans to show “even more” of the short-form videos to meet growing demand for the format.
“User expectations are changing, and that's what they're demanding. We are only meeting them where they are,” Chawla said.
Changes at Meta:Teens won't be able to see certain posts on Facebook, Instagram
The update also offers new controls while watching videos, including:
◾ A slider to skip forward or backward.
◾ A tapping feature that brings up additional options to pause or jump forward or backward 10 seconds.
◾ The ability to flip a phone to watch most horizontal videos as a fullscreen, landscape video.
◾ A messenger button alongside the like, share and comment buttons to simplify sharing a video with friends.
veryGood! (185)
Related
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Caitlin Clark and Zendaya are inspiring 2024 baby name trends
- One of several South Dakota baseball players charged in rape case pleads guilty to lesser felony
- Man arraigned in fatal shooting of off-duty Chicago police officer
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Lawsuit filed challenging Arkansas school voucher program created by 2023 law
- Celtics' Kristaps Porzingis has 'rare' left leg injury, questionable for NBA Finals Game 3
- Donald Trump tells a group that calls for banning all abortions to stand up for ‘innocent life’
- 2025 'Doomsday Clock': This is how close we are to self
- Special counsel David Weiss says Hunter Biden verdict about illegal choices, not addiction
Ranking
- Why members of two of EPA's influential science advisory committees were let go
- Johnson & Johnson reaches $700 million settlement in talc baby powder case
- Gas prices are falling along with demand, despite arrival of summer
- Biden reacts to his son Hunter's guilty verdict in gun case, vowing to respect the judicial process
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- South Carolina baseball lures former LSU coach Paul Mainieri out of retirement
- Judge sets hearing over alleged leak of Nashville school shooter info to conservative outlet
- Well-known North Texas pastor steps away from ministry due to sin
Recommendation
Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
iOS 18 unveiled: See key new features and changes coming with next iPhone operating system
Michael Strahan's daughter Isabella finishes chemo treatment
When does 'Bridgerton' come out? Season 3 Part 2 release date, cast, where to watch new episodes
Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
Travis Kelce Adorably Shakes Off Taylor Swift Question About Personal Date Night Activity
Bill for “forever chemicals” manufacturers to pay North Carolina water systems advances
Common releases new album tracklist, including feature from girlfriend Jennifer Hudson