YouTube Music now lets you sync playback progress on different devices, but Spotify got there first

• YouTube Music has brought out a new feature that allows you to resume music playback across different devices
• It's similar to Spotify Connect, which gives you more controls in addition to cross-device playback
• The 'Speed dial' carousel in the YouTube Music app also shows playback progress bars, which is another new addition

YouTube Music isn’t just a handy way to go ads-free in its standard video player platform, it’s one of the most popular music streaming services out there – and its new playback feature marks a long-awaited addition to its interface. Unfortunately, it's one that Spotify has had for years.

In the latest version of the YouTube Music app (version 8.26.51), you can now resume music playback on different devices, allowing you to smoothly move between your mobile device, tablet, and computer to pick up where you left off. This means that you can start streaming from YouTube Music on your phone, stop mid-listen, and resume on another device.

As well as YouTube Music’s latest feature, those over at Android Authority spotted another small addition to the YouTube Music interface. In your ‘Speed dial’ carousel, (a section where you can pin songs, albums, and playlists you want to listen to frequently) you’ll see that there are new progress bars that represent your listening activity on other devices.

When you tap on one a new ‘Resume’ option will appear, allowing you to pick up playback where you left off.

A helpful feature, but it’s still early days

While you’ve always been able to keep track of your listening habits as you move between devices, the ability to pick up from where you left off isn't as smooth as the likes of Spotify Connect, which is YouTube Music’s biggest rival. The new feature has definitely been a long time coming for YouTube Music, but it still has a long way to go.

In the case of Spotify, not only can you resume playback between devices, but it gives you even more power by allowing you to control music playback on one device using another. For example, Spotify could be streaming music out of your smartphone, but you can still navigate its desktop version to control what comes out of your phone by tapping the ‘Connect’ icon in the playback bar, which will show all of the available devices.

This feature applies to devices such as the best smart speakers, which you can also control from your smartphone or computer. I find this particularly helpful and use it constantly, and Spotify Connect makes it a lot easier to switch from my smart speaker back to my smartphone when I need to leave the house but still want to listen to music on the way.

There’s no denying that the new Resume feature is a big upgrade to YouTube Music’s ecosystem, which will hopefully evolve over time to allow you to have more power over your playback. Right now, it’s still very fresh, so we’ll have to see what loyal YouTube Music users think of the change.

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