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How YouTube currently looks in the Edge preview.
Since Microsoft began testing its new Edge browser built on Chromium, Google has gradually started limiting the functionality of some of its own services with the browser. The latest victim is YouTube, which now reverts to an older design when you view it with Edge Insider builds.
What you need to know
Google has seemingly handicapped YouTube in Microsoft’s new Chromium-based Edge Insider builds
Visiting YouTube with Edge Dev and Canary builds now shows an older design without the option to turn on dark mode..
It’s unclear if Google will revert the changes in time for Edge’s full release.
Since Microsoft began testing its new Edge browser built on Chromium, Google has gradually started limiting the functionality of some of its own services with the browser. The latest victim is YouTube, which now reverts to an older design when you view it with Edge Insider builds.
It’s unclear when the change was made, but it appears to be relatively recent. Visiting YouTube with the Edge Dev and Canary releases will surface the design that Google used for the site prior to its latest overhaul. That means you also lose out on the option to switch to YouTube’s dark theme. As Thurrott points out, trying to force the new, modern YouTube experience by visiting youtube.com/new presents you with a splash page asking you to download Chrome.
How YouTube looks in Chrome.
YouTube is only the latest Google service to be hit by some form of handicap with Edge Insider releases. We first noticed in April that Google Meet was no longer working with Edge Canary and Dev builds. Later, Google Docs began displaying a message saying the browser wasn’t compatible with the cloud authoring service.
It’s worth noting that Google maintains that at least Meet will be supported in the new Edge once it launches into general availability. “With the recent release of developer previews for Edge, we are thrilled to be able to offer a new preview experience of Hangouts Meet, and we plan to officially support it once it becomes generally available,” the company said in a statement after word Edge stopped working with Google Meet.
It’s unclear if Google has the same intentions for the rest of its services. However, the arbitrary disabling of features that were working fine with Microsoft’s new browser is concerning. We’ll likely learn more about Google’s intentions as Edge moves closer to general availability, but, for now, YouTube will look a little dated if you’re using the Edge Insider builds.
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