While I was browsing around on the F-droid store, I had to see some if they had any solutions for media consumption. Luckily, there are two apps that seem to get updated relatively frequently. Those two would be Skytube and Newpipe. However, after using these apps over a bit over a week now, I feel like Newpipe is the superior of the two and has the best chance at replacing the official Youtube app sometime in the future.
But what is Newpipe? As said in it’s description, it is a front end for Youtube that parses only the information it needs from the site, avoiding the requirement for any of Google’s framework or Youtube API. This means that those who choose to not use Google services will not be left out of the Youtube experience. Another benefit is that it’s not even required to have any sort of account if you were wanting to subscribe.
Think of it similar to an rss. You can browse for a channel, go to it, tap subscribe and you will be “following” them. While they won’t see it, you can still see their latest uploads when they come out in the “What’s new” tab. If you don’t feel like going through every channel and following them all manually again, they do have an option where you can import all of your subscriptions. They have a short guide that walks you through the process. The best part is that Newpipe never touches your account, so you don’t have to worry about your account being swiped.
So then, on to the benefits of using Newpipe. Let’s start off with one of the most notable. No ads. Period. There’s none of those ads you have to skip or wait 5 seconds before you can watch a video. It’s straight into your content. That appears to be a common annoyance that many others and myself have with Youtube and it seems like there is no app, at least from what I have seen, that can block them completely inside of the Youtube app.
Next, the ability to download a video as a video or an audio file directly. Ever since apps like Tubemate got rid of the downloading function, there really was no point in using it anymore. On top of that, you needed a converter to get an audio file. That isn’t needed with Newpipe. All you need to do is tap download and select if you want video or audio and the quality you want it at. The layout and how direct it is to download with no hassle makes this my preferred app of choice, easily beating out apps like Videor.
Now, I can’t recall exactly what app I had on my ipod touch a few years ago, but it was honestly one of the best Youtube applications I have ever used with one great feature that Youtube now charges for. The ability to play audio from a video in the background. Sadly, it had been removed from the app store and the feature was removed from newer versions. That’s why when I saw Newpipe, I was pretty excited for this feature. There’s no need to pay for it and there’s no “Continue playing in the app” if you minimize the app. On Newpipe, it is just one tap and you are good to go with a song or compilation of music.
One thing that I think Newpipe really challenges Youtube on is the popout function for videos. It provides the ability to resize the window with ease. So if you want it to take up the third of the screen, you can, while also being able to make it take up maybe a tenth or so. I’m not sure if I’m the only one, but when using the popout player for Youtube, I am unable to use any of the touch control when you tap on the player. You would think that if it’s there you should be able to use them, but no, it seems like it’s just for show. Newpipe has these touch controls that work with a bit more functionality, such as changing the quality of the video on the fly.
One thing that I wasn’t expecting though was that there is also a Soundcloud option also built into the app. It provides mainly the same functions that’s available to the Youtube side, such as downloading. You can follow creators and they will get added into the same subscriber list, making it an all in one.
That’s enough good stuff for now. But what about the drawbacks? Well, I feel like some of these are really just me picking on some small things, but it’s still manageable.
First off is the fact that you cannot browse comments and watch the video at the same time unless you use the pop out video function. This isn’t a huge deal breaker for me, but it is sort of an inconvenience if I ever want to read comments while watching a video. It feels like it just sort of breaks the flow of the experience. Not everyone reads comments however, so this might not be an issue for other users.
Second would be that you cannot double tap the pop out player to go back into the app. This kind of ties in with the first one for the most part as it deals with the flow of the application. Perhaps this can be fixed in a future update where videos can playback through the app and it acts just like Youtube does. Again, more of an inconvenience but nothing that can’t be worked out.
My third and final complaint so far would have to be the “What’s new” tab and the inability to filter between Youtube and Soundcloud subscriptions. I feel like the app would transition just a little bit better if we had subscriptions in one tab as it is now, and then be able to slide to the right to see “What’s new”. That and preferably having it show more than just the most recent, but maybe the creators last few videos or songs uploaded. As far as subscriptions go, the app has no indication whether or not a subscription is Youtube or Soundcloud, so it can be easy to get them mixed up if you follow a lot of people.
Overall, while being a work in progress that is updated about every month, I have to say that Newpipe has really impressed me with the functionality it brings all for 14mb in size. It has a few kinks it needs worked out before I would consider it THE replacement to use, but I feel like it’s headed in the right direction. I would consider the services it brings enough to be able to give this app a try and see what it’s all about.
If you’re interested in trying out Newpipe, you can get it directly off of the F-droid website or app: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.schabi.newpipe/
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