YouTube Music app will soon let you automatically download up to 500 songs

YouTube Music
Image credit: Shutterstock (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Google has given YouTube Music's Offline Mixtape feature a huge overhaul, enabling it to download up to 500 tracks for offline listening rather than the current 100.

The new feature is called Smart Downloads, according to Android Central, and will automatically download tracks based on your listening habits.

Although YouTube Music is chiefly a music streaming service, Smart Downloads lets you save a bundle of tracks to your phone over your home Wi-Fi, so the app won't eat into your mobile data allowance while you're out and about. It's also very handy if you're going to be offline for a while (on a long flight, for example).

Don't worry if you haven't got enough space on your phone for a vast music library, though – 500 is the maximum possible number of tracks to download, but you can set a lower limit if you prefer.

Time (and data) is money

YouTube Music will download tracks using an algorithm, which factors in your existing 100-track Offline Mixtape, your list of 'liked' tracks, and your favorite playlists and albums.

You can still choose to download tracks individually if you prefer, but when Smart Downloads rolls out, it could save you an enormous amount of time and data. That sounds good to us.

Cat Ellis

Cat is the editor of TechRadar's sister site Advnture. She’s a UK Athletics qualified run leader, and in her spare time enjoys nothing more than lacing up her shoes and hitting the roads and trails (the muddier, the better)