Skip to main content

YouTube Music gains ability to download songs, albums, and playlists

YouTube Music
Image used with permission by copyright holder
While Google has said that YouTube Music and Google Play Music will soon merge, that doesn’t mean Google isn’t working on improving YouTube Music in the meantime. In fact, the company just launched a major upgrade to YouTube Music, now allowing users to download songs, albums, and playlists for offline listening.

Now, this isn’t the first time users have been able to download music on YouTube Music, but it is a serious improvement for ease of use and convenience. Previously, you could download music through the offline mixtape feature, which was automatically created based on your listening history — that meant you had little control over the specific songs that were downloaded.

Saving music to listen to offline is pretty easy to do. Simply tap on the menu icon next to a song, album, or playlist, then hit “Save Offline.” You’ll get a notification asking if you want to save the audio or video, and if you want to save the video you can choose between SD or HD. On iOS things are even easier — simply swipe the song, album, or playlist left, then tap the offline button. Then, to access your offline music, tap on your profile photo and hit the “Offline” button.

It’s a nice feature — but one that should have been included before. It also makes the service even more similar to Google Play Music. Google confirmed that the two would be merging in a report from The Verge, which followed a report from February that noted that the two teams behind the services had been combined. We don’t yet know exactly when the two will combine — but moves like this suggest that Google is working to make the experience the same across both services before the merge takes place.

It does make sense to combine the services. Subscribing to one automatically gets you a subscription to the other, and combining them will simply make things that much easier for users. It’s also not certain yet how the merger will be handled — it’s possible YouTube Music could simply be absorbed into Google Play Music, or vice versa. Or, it is also possible that a totally new service will be created to house the features of both.

Editors' Recommendations

Christian de Looper
Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…
A new Android 14 update is here — but you still shouldn’t download it
The Android 14 logo.

Google has released the second developer preview of Android 14, as the next major version of the operating system takes another step toward a full release. Like the first Android 14 developer preview, the clue as to who it’s for is in the name.

This early version is designed for developers to test new features and designs in their apps, and to explore how new tools in the software could help improve them. It’s not designed for everyday use by consumers -- that version will come later.

Read more
Don’t watch this YouTube video if you have a Pixel 7
Someone holding the Google Pixel 7 Pro.

Reports of another "cursed" piece of content have been making the internet rounds as a video on YouTube has been causing Pixel devices to crash. The video, a clip from the 1979 movie Alien, seems to cause Pixel 7, Pixel 7 Pro, and some Pixel 6 and Pixel 6a smartphones to instantly reboot without warning.

As first reported on Reddit and spotted by Mishaal Rahman, the video will begin to play for only a second or two and then instantly reboot the Pixel 7 it's being played on. Digital Trends can confirm the bug to be active and working, too, with the video instantly rebooting a Pixel 7 Pro we tested it on.

Read more
Google wants you to know Android apps aren’t just for phones anymore
Person holding Samsung Galaxy smartphone showing Google Play Store.

When most people think of the Google Play Store, the first thing that comes to mind is smartphones. However, the spread of the Android ecosystem is far broader than that, and Google is taking steps to increase awareness of this and make it easier for folks to find apps on the Play Store for their smart TVs, watches, and even cars.

In a blog post today, the Google Play team announced three significant changes that should make it easier for Android fans to discover apps for all their devices, right from their phone. This includes recommendations of apps for non-phone devices, a search filter to focus on only games optimized for non-phone devices, and even a remote install feature that will let you deliver those apps to your Android TV, Wear OS watch, or Android Automotive-equipped car.

Read more