The new full-screen player presented by Facebook is very reminiscent of the way videos are displayed within the TikTok app.
Facebook has decided to revolutionize the video viewing experience within the platform.
To make the use of the videos more orderly and pleasant, the decision made was to introduce a new video player reserved for mobile devices.
Meta, Facebook's parent company, has never hidden its interest in adopting the vertical style, made popular by TikTok, as well as Reel; the latter characteristic of the Instagram app, also under the umbrella of the same company.
This means that all video content on Facebook, including Facebook Live and long-form content, will be presented in one full screen and portrait format.
The debut will take place on iOS and Android in the United States and Canada, and will then be progressively extended throughout the world and on all platforms.
Smartphone-friendly
In the past, the video experience on Facebook came in a variety of formats.
For example, some videos could only be viewed in landscape mode, while others played directly in the feed.
With the introduction of the new updated player, videos will automatically fit into vertical format following a uniform approachas announced by Meta in a post on his blog which anticipates the launch of the feature.
Despite the evolution, Facebook does not sideline users who prefer horizontal viewing.
It will remain possible to view videos in this format and in full screen, simply by rotating the phone into landscape mode.
Tasting for everyone
Not only will the new video player have a revamped default configuration, but Meta has also announced the new features and functionality that will be implemented.
At the bottom of the player, we will find a cursor which will allow users to easily move between different parts of the video.
It will be accompanied by a series of new controls that will make it possible to pause and rewind the video. While we don't expect anything revolutionary in this sense, these small improvements are designed to make the viewer experience even more enjoyable.
This move further highlights Facebook's efforts to compete with the great popularity of TikTokwhich won over users with its short, vertical videos.
Meta has been moving in this direction for some time, as demonstrated by the recent announcement regarding Blends for its “sister” Instagram. It remains to be seen whether this transformation will be positively received by users or will be considered somewhat harshly as an imitation of another platform.
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