YouTube has launched a brand new Smart Offline feature for its users in India, allowing them to save money by taking advantage of reduced data rates at night. It’s a neat concept and should prove to be a boon for people reluctant to stay up all night watching videos.
Accessing the new feature is pretty straightforward. All a person has to do is tap on the grey arrow to download a video offline, after which a message will pop up asking them if they want to choose the new ‘Save overnight’ option via their telecom operator’s cheaper night data plan. The app then automatically schedules the process to begin after peak hours in the night.
In theory, this could mean YouTube users would simply have to do this before going to sleep or anytime of the day and watch it the next day without worrying about burning a hole in their pocket. Of course, this leads to a situation where they’d have to wait for a while before they can watch a video. Still, the benefits here clearly outweigh having to be patient.
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YouTube is rolling out the new tool to Airtel and Telenor customer gradually starting from June 9. Both will probably benefit massively from the addition of the option, possibly driving a fresh set of subscribers to opt for their night-time packs.
YouTube hopes to introduce the Smart Offline feature to its entire user base in due course. It should be noted that the new system only works if the person is connected to their carrier’s data network. It won’t work if they’re synced with a Wi-Fi platform.