Apple has changed the video player in iOS 16. What’s new and how to use

iOS 16 turned out to be quite controversial: despite external changes, there is not much desire to update. But there is a small reason for joy for those who like to watch movies and TV shows – Apple finally heard the pleas of users and changed the look of the video player: honestly, I want to wait for the update just because of this innovation!

The old interface, which appeared back in iOS 7, got fed up with the order, and those who were satisfied with it were very few. There are many changes: new buttons, control gestures, and additional playback settings. Let’s see how the video player has changed in iOS 16 and how to use it now.

Standard player in iPhone

The system player on the iPhone is used in many applications, including Safari. Changes have been asking for a very long time, because the same YouTube has long received convenient navigation and a bunch of gestures. Therefore, when you open a video in a browser, you still view it in the YouTube application – it’s more convenient there.

The new video player can be seen in iOS 16, which has just been released in public beta: you don’t have to install it – everything will appear after the update. You can install the beta right now, but remember that this is done at your own peril and risk.

The old video player is a real pain. I wonder if it was convenient for Apple employees to use it themselves?

The new video player now looks different and corresponds to the spirit of iOS: the video title is now displayed right on the screen below and has an enlarged, well-read font. The navigation bars at the top and bottom are now missing: instead, the play / pause button was placed in the center of the screen, in the same place – rewinding the video 10 seconds back and forth in the form of white buttons. The blurry background of the volume slider has also been replaced with just white buttons – it’s much simpler and clearer.

How to watch videos on iPhone

The rewind and pause buttons have been removed from the awkward bottom panel and made into gestures: now you can press the center of the screen to pause the video or continue playing. No more awkward attempts hoping to hit the little pause button at the bottom of the screen. Also, Apple made good use of the space by removing the video zoom button to fit the screen – instead, you can spread two fingers across the screen to fill the screen and pinch them back so that the video has borders. Gestures have been asking for a long time instead of the double tap that was previously.

Navigation and icons have changed – it’s much more convenient

Please note that the rewind slider was removed in the iOS 16 player – yes, yes, the one that had to be “grabbed” somehow when using the iPhone with one hand, and even in a horizontal position. Now the video can be rewound by swiping anywhere on the progress bar.

Also, all controls disappear after you start rewinding. By the way, now you can start it from anywhere on the screen: just swipe left or right and the video will start rewinding after your finger. If you do not take your finger off the screen, then rewinding is slow, and swiping (taking your finger off the screen) is fast. It walks by the minute and does not stop immediately. Yes, yes, gestures that have long been familiar to everyone from the VLC player, after which the standard player in iOS seems ancient and limited.

iPhone video playback speed

Another feature that has been prepared for users in iOS 16 is video playback speed . The function will be available not only in standard Apple applications, but also in third-party ones. The following video playback speeds will be available:

Now the video can be watched in accelerated mode

• 0.5x;
• 1.0x;
• 1.25x;
• 1.5x;
• 2x.

By the way, developers will be able to add other speeds at their discretion, but the function of embedding a standard player in the application is not mandatory – do not be surprised if it does not exist. To change the speed, you will need to click on the icon with three dots in a circle and select the desired speed. Agree, it is very convenient to watch the same podcasts or training videos at a speed of 1.5x – the same YouTube has long offered such a feature, due to which you save a lot of time.

In general, the update of the system player turned out to be very large-scale. To complete the picture, only the image parameters, manual video quality settings are missing, so that the video loads faster to save traffic or with a weak Internet. You can also install wallpapers from iOS 16 on your iPhone without installing the beta – read our article on where to get them .