After an extended testing period , YouTube has globally rolled out its Explore tab to its Android and iOS mobile apps, replacing the previous Trending section. Users can now enjoy a more intuitive and personalized browsing experience to discover new content, categories, and emerging creators.
What is the YouTube Explore tab and why is it so important?
YouTube's Explore tab is a feature that streamlines access to new, popular, and themed content on the platform, integrating multiple categories such as music, video games, news, movies, and learning. Unlike the old Trending section, Explore offers more segmented and visual navigation , allowing any user to find relevant videos based on their interests and current trends.
This tab is located in the app's bottom navigation bar, replacing the previous Trends access. Additionally, you'll find a dedicated Trends button at the top of Explore, as well as a featured videos section as you browse.
Main categories and sections of the Explore tab
- Trends: The most viewed and commented on videos in your region are displayed here. You can easily see what's trending. popular and viral in real time, both locally and globally.
- Music: Direct access to videos most popular musicalsplaylists, new releases, and trends in the music world. It typically includes the top 100 songs of the moment in your country.
- Video game: Discover gameplays, reviews, releases and trends in the gaming universe, with the most influential creators of the sector.
- Movies and series: Access the YouTube video store to watch trailers, premieres, new releases available for streaming, as well as paid or rental content.
- News: Videos from the main national and international media, with the latest news and reports.
- Fashion and beauty: The latest trends, tutorials, tips and launches of the fashion and makeup industry.
- Learning: Teaching resources, educational videos, tutorials and dissemination material for grow in knowledge.
The platform plans to add new categories as user interests evolve and recommendations are received, thus increasing the discovery potential from Explore.
Rising Creator and Artist: Connect with Emerging Talent
One feature that sets the Explore tab apart is the Rising Creators section , where YouTube showcases and recommends rapidly growing channels and artists. Here, you'll see profiles of featured creators and musicians before other popular videos, making it easier for the community to discover new voices and talent.
"As you scroll through your Explore feed, you'll see 'Rising Creator' and 'Rising Artist' before other trending videos. New creators and artists emerge on YouTube every day, so we hope this makes it easier for you to discover their content and connect with them and their communities."
Thanks to this section, both fans and new users can support diversity and creativity , helping emerging talent reach a wider audience.
User experience and interface updates
YouTube has optimized the layout of the Explore tab to make it more intuitive and visual, highlighting the main categories at the top, while recommended videos from each section appear at the bottom. The new design also aims to improve navigation on Android devices.
Recently, the platform has been testing new designs, such as drop-down menus for categories, with the aim of further simplifying navigation . However, the predominant version continues to favor a clear and straightforward presentation that minimizes clicks and facilitates access to each category and trend.
This constant improvement responds to user demand, as they look to easily discover new content without getting lost among thousands of videos, something the previous Trending tab failed to fully address.
How to activate the Explore tab on your Android or iOS device
The Explore tab is being rolled out gradually from YouTube's servers, so it may take a little while to appear on all devices. If you don't see the feature yet, you can try force-stopping the app on Android to force an update, and in most cases, it will become available shortly without any further action required. You can also consult guides for setting up Google Home and improving your user experience.
Explore is live on the vast majority of Android and iOS devices, offering the best discovery and browsing experience on the platform to date.
