YouTube is adding three Premium features aimed at people who use the app like a podcast player: On-the-go mode, Auto speed, and AI-powered podcast recommendations through Ask Music.
The update shows how seriously YouTube is treating podcasts now. The company says YouTube Podcasts has more than 1 billion monthly active users, while Premium users watched over 800 million hours of podcasts in April 2026 alone.
The catch is availability. Two of the most practical features are starting on Android first, with iOS support coming later.
On-the-go mode makes YouTube easier to use like an audio app
On-the-go mode is built for moments when you are listening more than watching. It gives Premium users simpler controls for background playback, including easier access to skip forward and back.
That is useful for podcasts, interviews, talk shows, and other long videos where the screen may not matter the whole time. YouTube already offers background playback on iPhone through Premium, but this mode makes the controls feel more like something designed for listening.
For now, On-the-go mode is available to Premium users on Android. YouTube says it will come to iOS in the months ahead.
Auto speed adjusts playback pace for you
Auto speed is the most interesting change. Instead of asking users to manually choose 1.25x, 1.5x, or another speed, YouTube says the feature can adjust playback speed during moments such as slower speech or information-heavy segments.
The goal is to help users move through content faster without losing track of what is being said. That could be handy for long podcasts, but it will depend heavily on how well YouTube handles tone, pauses, and dense parts of a conversation.
Auto speed is also available now for Premium users on Android, with iOS support coming soon.
Ask Music now works for podcast discovery
YouTube is also expanding Ask Music beyond songs and playlists. YouTube Music Premium and YouTube Premium subscribers in select countries can now ask for podcast recommendations based on genres, moods, topics, or shows they already like.
Ask Music for podcasts is available only on mobile devices, with the app language set to English or Spanish. The supported regions currently include the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, and Latin American countries except Brazil.
The feature is useful if you already listen through YouTube Music, but it is still a limited rollout. If it does not appear in your app yet, your account, region, language, or device may not be eligible.
Premium keeps becoming YouTube’s podcast upgrade path
YouTube has been slowly separating basic viewing from paid convenience features. The company recently widened free Picture-in-Picture access on iPhone for some long-form videos, but background play, music-related PiP, and these new podcast-focused tools still make Premium the better experience for people who listen often.
That positioning is clear in this update. YouTube wants casual video views and the long podcast sessions that usually belong to audio-first apps. Better listening controls and AI recommendations make sense for that, especially as video podcasts keep growing.
For iPhone users, though, the headline feature is still mostly a promise. Android Premium users get On-the-go mode and Auto speed now. iOS users will have to wait for YouTube’s staged rollout.
