YouTube now lets you control playback with Android Auto — but there’s a catch

Source Domain: tech.yahoo.com

You’ll now be able to use background controls for YouTube on your car’s Android Auto system, if you subscribe to YouTube Premium, that is. (Tamer Soliman via Getty Images)

If you use Android Auto in your car to listen to long YouTube videos on the go, Google just made controlling playback a lot easier. The company appears to have enabled YouTube background playback controls for Android Auto, according to users on Reddit and reported by 9to5Google. Now, you’ll be able to use Android Auto’s built-in “now playing” controls to pause, play and skip videos, but there’s a small catch.

Access to background playback is a feature limited to YouTube Premium subscribers, so you’ll have to pay up if you want to listen to a four-hour history video on your next car ride. That means you’ll need to pay at least $7.99 per month for YouTube Premium Lite.

If you are a premium subscriber, you’ll now see background player controls on your Android Auto home screen when you set a video to play before hitting the road. It’s rather limited, allowing you to pause or play at any time. You can also use the skip feature, but be aware that it skips the entire video, not just 10 or 15 seconds of the current video.

There’s still no full YouTube for Android Auto that lets you watch videos on your car’s screen. However, as 9to5Google notes, video support is in the works, so we may see it in the future. Just don’t expect to be able to watch videos while you’re doing 60 down the highway; it’s almost certainly meant to be something you do while the car is firmly in.

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