Google Might Be Developing A 'YouTube Edition' Android Phone

Google might be secretly working on a new Android smartphone that’s designed specifically for watching YouTube videos. The rumored “YouTube Edition” phone appeared in one of Google’s alleged surveys, which describes the device as having optimized features that make it easier to watch videos and connect with YouTube creators.

The existence of the survey was first reported by Android Authority. The survey is being distributed by the UK-based Survey Bods. The survey allegedly details an Android phone that’s been dubbed as “YouTube Edition,” and it comes with new features that aren’t readily available on other smartphones in the market.

The first feature that was mentioned is called YouTwist. This feature lets users rotate the device to landscape on the home screen and instantly access a grid where they can quickly browse YouTube videos that they may want to watch. Another feature that was mentioned in the survey is called YouCapture. This is described as a hardware button that gives users quick access to the camera to start recording a video that will be uploaded to YouTube.

There’s also a feature called Creator Connector, which allegedly looks like Instagram Stories. Creator Connector appears on top of the device’s home screen and lets users scroll through YouTube accounts. Tapping one of these accounts will bring the user directly to the community page of that YouTube account.

The last feature that was detailed in the survey is called Live Lockscreen. This feature allows live video thumbnails to display on the lock screen. Tapping on one of the thumbnails will allow users to jump directly to the live YouTube video and start watching.

As for specs, the alleged “YouTube Edition” phone seems to be a mid-range device rather than a flagship phone. The survey compared the device to the Apple iPhone SE, iPhone 6, Sony Xperia XA1 and the Samsung Galaxy A5.

The survey also included a list of different specs for the "YouTube Edition" phone. The most common specs listed on the survey are the following: a 6.01-inch 18:9 LCD display with a 2,160 x 1,080 screen resolution, a 2.2GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB/64GB of storage and a 3,700mAh battery.

The survey also mentioned dual 12MP+5MP cameras on the back, Dolby Atmos stereo speakers and a fingerprint sensor. The “YouTube Edition” phone could also have three color options: black, white and red.

The survey included a low-resolution image of what this phone might look like. 9To5Google pointed out that it seems to be running a user interface that seems to look like the original Pixel Launcher, but with YouTube’s signature colors.

Although the device is currently being called as “YouTube Edition,” the survey mentioned other names for the device, as well. Some of the other named mentioned were “YouTube Edition by Android One,” “YouTube Edition by LG” and “YouTube Edition by Samsung.” This could suggest that Google is still in very early stages of development and the company might be planning on partnering with an OEM.

Pricing for the “YouTube Edition” phone was also included in the survey. The Android phone could sell for £269 (around US$360) to £299 (around US$400). The survey also said that customers who buy the phone will get 10GB of free data per month for a year.

It’s important to point out that this device might not end up becoming a real product. Just because it appeared on a survey it doesn’t necessarily mean that Google is actively working on it. It’s possible that Google may have even scrapped this idea some time ago.

Nevertheless, there’s also a possibility that Google is planning to release this phone at some point in the future. At the very least, the company may also be experimenting with some YouTube-centric features for Android.