Play is the best companion app for YouTube power users

Enhance Your YouTube Experience with the Play App: A Comprehensive Guide

YouTube offers a wealth of features, but third-party apps can significantly improve organization and viewing. Play, compatible with most Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Vision Pro), excels at managing your YouTube content, refining search, and personalizing recommendations.

A one-time purchase of $2.99 unlocks Play's core functionality across all your devices. A monthly ($2.99), annual ($19.99), or lifetime ($99.99) Premium subscription unlocks advanced features.

Essential Play Features:

Initially, Play appears empty. Populate it by clicking the " " button in the toolbar, pasting a YouTube URL, and selecting "Import." Alternatively, use the "Add to Play" button in the Safari share sheet (or other Apple device share sheets; enable the Play extension in the Extensions settings if needed).

Tagging videos enhances organization. Assign tags like "comedy" or "documentary" for easy retrieval. On macOS, tags appear in the left sidebar. Automate tagging based on video title, description, duration, or channel using the "Auto-Tagging" feature in the "Organize" menu. Create sophisticated rules for incoming videos.

The "Smart Search" function (also in the "Organize" menu) allows filtering videos by criteria like rating, upload date, or duration. These searches are displayed in the sidebar.

The toolbar provides tools for bulk video editing and filtering. Select a video to view details (description, upload date) in the right-hand panel. Rate videos and mark them as watched from this panel. Watch videos directly in Play (if embedded playback is allowed) or launch them in YouTube. Seamlessly manage queues across multiple devices.

Unlocking Premium Capabilities:

Play Premium unlocks advanced features:

• Organize Smart Searches: Sort smart searches into folders and group tags.
• Enhanced Video Details: Access video transcripts, chapters, and timestamps in the right-hand sidebar.
• Channel Following: Follow channels directly within Play and import playlists from YouTube or Google Takeout.
• Recommended Videos: Access recommended videos from creators directly within the app.

Customize Play's appearance and functionality via the "Settings" menu. Connect a YouTube account for easier importing and ad-free viewing (if you're a YouTube Premium subscriber).

Play offers a superior alternative to YouTube's built-in organization tools, particularly for users managing content across multiple Apple devices. While Android and Windows support would enhance its appeal, its cross-device synchronization makes it a valuable asset for Apple users.

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