Not only that, YouTube has also added new features to YouTube Shorts, similar to TikTok and Instagram, and hiked the prices of YouTube Premium plans. 

But YouTube is not stopping there. Latest reports suggest the company is testing a new anti-adblocking feature that will disable video playback, forcing you to either disable your ad blocker or sign up for YouTube Premium.

YouTube always wins?

According to Search Engine Land, YouTube is currently testing a new feature, an anti-adblocking popup, and the popup works as the name suggests. It warns users that ad blockers aren’t allowed on YouTube. And the message also comes with three bullet points.

The first bullet point notes the video playback is blocked. The second and the third bullet point remind the users that ads allow YouTube to be free, and you have the option to go ad-free with YouTube Premium, asking you to sign up for it. 

So, whichever you choose, YouTube wins!

In addition to these warnings, the popup also features a timer. A 30-60 second timer or a countdown clock at the top right corner shows how long the users have to act before the next ad plays.

However, YouTube has provided two additional options at the bottom of the window to eliminate the popup. So, you have to either allow ads on or sign up for YouTube Premium.

Currently, YouTube is only testing this feature globally within chosen groups. If you are unlucky enough to be a part of those random groups, you won’t be able to watch videos unless you allow ads or signup up as a premium member.

Have any thoughts on this? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• YouTube silently introduces new Stable Volume feature 
• YouTube is introducing a new ad format that everyone will hate
• YouTube’s NFL Sunday Ticket pricing: touchdown or fumble?
• YouTube Premium just added 5 new features – here’s what’s new

The post YouTube may soon start blocking adblockers with a timed warning appeared first on KnowTechie.

Quick Answer: Fast charging is generally safe for your battery when used with compatible devices and chargers. However, it may have a slight impact on battery health over time.

Fast charging tech for smartphones is insanely useful. I mean, who doesn’t want to be able to charge 50 percent of their battery in minutes? With speeds ever-increasing, you might have some questions about how a fast charger affects your battery health.

I mean, OnePlus has phones that come with a 150W charger. That’s full battery life in less than 15 minutes, and the company is working on an even faster 240W charger.

The Lithium-ion batteries in your smartphones are getting better all the time. Unlike NiCad, it’s not electrons that move between the positive and negative electrodes but ions.

In theory, this could work forever, but real-world usage means they start to degrade. The biggest killer? Heat.

So what do manufacturers do to mitigate fast charging issues?

Popular YouTuber MKBHD noticed that every video about advances in charging tech has the comments section littered with “I don’t want that on my phone, that’s definitely going to overheat,” to “good luck plugging that in for more than five minutes before it explodes.”

He decided to find out if that’s actually true, and it’s pretty cool what he discovered.

The first thing he found is that the rated speed of any charger typically only hits that speed for the first few minutes after plugging in.

A 65W charger goes at full for maybe 20 minutes before it drastically drops the power and trickle charges. That keeps the heat down, helping with battery longevity.

The other thing is that lithium-ion batteries don’t like being at 100 percent or 0 percent charge. They’re happier in the middle, which is why battery health algorithms stop the charge once they get to 80 percent.

He also found that there’s an industry standard for what actually counts as “ruining your battery.” That’s a target of 80 percent battery health after 800 charges. If you charge once a day, that’s over two years before your battery degrades below this point.

The biggest thing to take away from MKBHD’s video is that speedy charging doesn’t have to destroy your battery. They’re a convenient way to keep your battery topped up. The best thing to do is to keep using your phones as normal and try not to let them get hot.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Is iOS 15.4 draining your iPhone’s battery? You’re not alone
• Are Apple’s AirTags draining the battery life of nearby devices?
• The Galaxy S22 Ultra’s battery life drags behind the S21 Ultra and iPhone 13 Pro Max
• 10 tips to improve your iPhone’s battery life

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

The post Is fast charging actually bad for your battery? appeared first on KnowTechie.

YouTube says the new layout is part of a “new viewer experience,” and will only feature the search bar, along with the Shorts, Subscriptions, and Library buttons.

Starting today, if you have YouTube watch history off and have no significant prior watch history, features that require watch history to provide video recommendations will be disabled – like your YouTube home feed. This means that starting today, your home feed may look a lot different: you’ll be able to see the search bar and the left-hand guide menu, with no feed of recommended videos thus allowing you to more easily search, browse subscribed channels and explore Topic tabs instead.

This could be a breath of fresh air for those tired of wading through a sea of extreme thumbnails, but it could also be a clever ploy to nudge users into reactivating their watch history.

Android Authority notes that the change has already begun and will reach all users in the next few months.

The move has been met with mixed reviews, with some users appreciating the distraction-free interface while others express concern about the lack of recommendations.

If you were to ask us, this update has solved an arguably annoying problem for those who prefer a simpler, less cluttered homepage. However, the question remains: Will this decision enhance user experience, or will it push users to seek their video content elsewhere?

Either way, it will be interesting to see if YouTube’s gamble pays off or if it will be forced to hit the ‘undo’ button on this radical change.

Have any thoughts on this? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• YouTube Shorts rips off another Instagram and TikTok feature
• YouTube silently introduces new Stable Volume feature 
• YouTube Premium sees price increase, now $14 per month
• YouTube silently introduces new Stable Volume feature 

The post Your YouTube homepage could soon go blank – here’s why appeared first on KnowTechie.

Now, the company is adding a couple of brand-new features to YouTube Shorts, which are very similar to those that Instagram Reels and TikTok offer.

Six new YouTube Shorts features for the creators

Yesterday, YouTube announced six new features for YouTube Shorts. The primary addition is the feature named “Collab.” 

It enables users the ability to record a Short in a side-by-side format with an existing YouTube clip. Although both Instagram and TikTok have been offering this feature for a while. 

The company has also announced a new Q&A sticker function. It enables the audience to ask you questions, and of course, you are allowed to respond via the commence section or with another Short. Again, it is quite similar to Instagram and TikTok’s features. 

On the other hand, the Google-owned company is also trying to make creating Shorts easier from the existing content. So, the company is offering new tools to the creators to help them convert landscape videos into Short. 

The other notable additions to YouTube Shorts are the ability to save Shorts to a playlist, the ability to copy effects and audio in a blink from another clip, and the live videos in the Shorts feed.

Either way, it is clear that YouTube is turning a new leaf using its competition’s handbook.

Have any thoughts on this? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• YouTube Premium sees price increase, now $14 per month
• YouTube silently introduces new Stable Volume feature
• YouTube is introducing a new ad format that everyone will hate
• TikTok announces FYP to feature more STEM content

The post YouTube Shorts rips off another Instagram and TikTok feature appeared first on KnowTechie.

During the YouTube Brandcast event this week, the company unveiled a new unskippable 30-second ad format, exclusively targeting top-performing content viewed on connected TVs.

According to YouTube, the previous format of two consecutive 15-second ads will be replaced by the new 30-second design. However, the shorter 15-second ads will remain available.

The new info suggests the new unskippable ads will only be available through YouTube Select. YouTube Select is a curated advertising platform targeting the top five percent of YouTube content.

The company also claims that YouTube Select is the best platform for longer 3-second ads, as most of the YouTube Select impressions come from TVs, nearly 70 percent. 

YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said, “More and more viewers are tuning into YouTube on the biggest screen in their home” during the Brandcast 2023 event, according to Variety.

People apparently love watching YouTube on TVs

According to the company, more than 150 million viewers watched YouTube and YouTube TV on television last year in the United States, and it has become a powerful platform, especially for young viewers. 

Moreover, YouTube has also announced a new feature called Pause Experiences on TVs. It’s something similar to something Hulu rolled out a few years back.

However, according to an image published by AdWeek, YouTube Pause Ads will be a little different. They will appear as a banner around the video, and removing them using the “Dismiss” button is possible. 

However, YouTube is yet to reveal when these new 30-second unskippable ads will start to roll out. 

Have any thoughts on this? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• YouTube Premium just added 5 new features – here’s what’s new
• Folding Ideas is a must-subscribe YouTube account – here’s why
• Microsoft is dabbling with ads in the Windows 11 Settings menu
• Block annoying ads/popups with a $20 lifetime AdGuard subscription

The post YouTube is introducing a new ad format that everyone will hate appeared first on KnowTechie.

Starting today, YouTube is rolling out a slew of new features for Premium subscribers, ranging from playlist control on mobile to improved video quality on iOS.

Let’s break it down.

Queue videos on YouTube

First up, Premium subscribers can now create a video queue on their mobile devices, giving them full control over what videos are played and in what order.

It’s like having your own personalized YouTube channel, but without all the hassle of ads and unwanted content.

Continue Watching

Next, there’s the continue watching feature, which allows you to seamlessly switch between watching a video on the web and then picking up where you left off on your phone.

It’s a simple but much-needed addition to the Premium package, and I’m sure many of us will be taking advantage of it.

Watch with friends

But that’s not all. YouTube is also slowly rolling out support for Apple’s SharePlay feature, which lets iOS users watch videos with each other via FaceTime.

And if you’re someone who loves to binge-watch on the go, you’ll appreciate the smart downloads feature that automatically adds recommended videos to your library when you’re connected to Wi-Fi.

Last but not least, YouTube Premium now includes an enhanced 1080p video experience, with improved bitrate and better quality for videos with lots of detail and motion.

The update is starting with iOS, but will soon make its way to the web.

These upgrades come at a cost

Of course, all of these features come at a price.

YouTube Premium starts at $11.99 per month if you sign up on the website, but if you’re using the iOS app, the price jumps to $15.99 per month to cover Apple’s cut.

But for those of us who practically live on YouTube, the added perks might just be worth it.

Have any thoughts on this? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• YouTube Premium family plans are going up in price
• YouTube pulls back on Premium subscription test for 4K video
• How to cancel your YouTube TV subscription
• Folding Ideas is a must-subscribe YouTube account – here’s why

The post YouTube Premium just added 5 new features – here’s what’s new appeared first on KnowTechie.

I usually have one playing in the background while I’m working, cooking, doing chores, etc. I’ll watch 2hr+ videos in 5 or 6 chunks like a podcast if I have to.

For years now, one of my favorite video essayists on YouTube has been Dan Olson, the Alberta, Canada-based creator behind the channel Folding Ideas.

Olson first caught my attention with his video “The Art of Editing and Suicide Squad.”

Released December 31, 2016, this essay does a brilliant job explaining what made Suicide Squad (2016) so difficult to watch.

In doing so, he presages a lot of issues that have plagued action movies since – namely, shoddy work done by artists under duress at the whims of bean counter studio execs.

What are the best videos on Folding Ideas’ channel?

Olson has released 174 videos, but recently has slowed down his prolific (and YouTube algorithm-friendly) “one video a week” pace and the results of this patience really show.

He now makes lengthy videos that tackle complex ideas in tech, gaming, or culture and refine them to all the bits you need to know to become fluent in the topic.

I’m going to highlight three standout essays, but I’d encourage you to subscribe to Folding Ideas and dig in anywhere that interests you.

On January 21, 2022, Olson released his most comprehensive documentary to date, Line Goes Up — The Problem with NFTs.

Now boasting over 10m views, this essay covers everything (and I mean everything) you need to know about NFTs.

He touches on Bored Apes, the massive Axie Infinity scam, and the false evangelism that drives the entire NFT and Crypto space.

I don’t know if it’s totally fair to credit this essay with the NFT crash, but it’s fun to say it did.

Folding Ideas’ most recent documentary, The Future is a Dead Mall – Decentraland and the Metaverse is an absolute barn-burner.

Olson subjected himself to massive psychic damage by spending hours on Decentraland, the current platonic ideal of “the metaverse.” He even spent New Years 2023 in this low-polygon hell and did it for us.

The video dives deep into the marketing behind Decentraland, the Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) that “govern” the space, and more.

For his 2020 video, In Search of a Flat Earth, Dan Olson went to Lake Minnewanka to conclusively prove, once and for all, that the earth is round.

What starts as a rather placid documentary showing the beauty of this Alberta glacial lake quickly escalates.

Without giving too much away, the 2nd half of this essay drills down on conspiracy movements like Q Anon and asks what causes otherwise “normal” people to fall for such blatant lies.

So, should you subscribe to Folding Ideas?

If you’re a fan of tech, gaming, nerd culture, or any related topics, you’ll find something to love in Folding Ideas’ videos.

Olson does a brilliant job distilling complex topics and keeping the conversation breezy and engaging — even if the essays he produces are sometimes lengthy.

In case it wasn’t clear from the title of this article, you should subscribe to Folding Ideas today, if not sooner!

Who are your favorite YouTubers? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Levi’s hires AI-generated models to increase diversity.
• Building a space colony? Use potatoes instead of human blood
• USB thumb drives hide something far more dangerous: explosives
• This interactive movie alters the plot based on your emotions

The post Folding Ideas is a must-subscribe YouTube account – here’s why appeared first on KnowTechie.

Sure, YouTube TV might have been a fairly comprehensive replacement for cable, but successive price hikes time and time again have made it almost as expensive as the cable package you were paying for before you cut the cord.

I mean, even $65 a month was kind of steep for a cable alternative, but now that they announced it’s raising its price to $72.99 – it has me and many others reconsidering Google’s live TV service.

“New members will see this new price today, while existing members will see this pricing change beginning 4/18. Additionally, we are lowering the price of our 4K Plus add-on from $19.99/mo to $9.99/mo,” the company wrote in a follow-up tweet.

“We are committed to offering a premium way for you to stream TV, but understand this new price may not work for you. We do hope YouTube TV continues to be your service of choice, but we want to give you the flexibility to cancel at any time. http://yt.be/membership”

I don’t know about you, but it may be time to reassess your viewing habits and consider pausing or canceling your subscription.

Not sure how to do it? No worries, we’ll walk you through the process so you can give your wallet a much-needed break at bill-paying time.

If the new price is too much for you or you don’t think it’s worth $73 a month, here’s how to break up with YouTube TV.

Enjoy not having that additional $72.99 subscription fee every month. Seriously, for that money, why cut the cable cord at all?

When I first jumped on the YouTube TV bandwagon, it was a mere $35 a month. But let me tell you, since then it’s been a never-ending climb to the top.

The prices keep shooting up and up, and quite frankly, I’m starting to wonder if there’s even a ceiling.

Remember those jokes we used to make about how streaming services would end up costing as much as cable TV? Well, looks like we weren’t too far off the mark.

If you are looking for more subscription services to cancel, make sure to check out our comprehensive guide here. And if you need a new streaming service to subscribe to, check out our list of the best streaming services.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Here’s how to cancel your ESPN+ subscription
• How to cancel your Amazon Prime membership
• Here’s how to cancel your Apple Music subscription on iPhone, iPad, or Mac
• How to cancel your Netflix subscription now that Friends is no longer on the platform

The post How to cancel your YouTube TV subscription appeared first on KnowTechie.

Streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime have pioneered a new market of accessible movies and shows at a much lower cost than a cable or satellite TV subscription.

Most of the big streaming services still have a cost, but plenty also offer their libraries for free.

The Best Streaming Services

Subscribing to a ton of streaming services can get extremely expensive, so choose wisely.

With the many options, it’s hard to know what the best streaming services are. Here are some of the most popular ones available.

The Best Streaming Services

Wondering which sites offer options to watch free movies online? Keep reading; we’ll list our favorites below.

As you can see, there are many options to watch free movies online. Sure, some are better than others, but all have ups and downs.

Keep reading to learn the various perks and what to expect from each of these free streaming services.

YouTube

If you frequent the internet, you probably use YouTube regularly or at least know what it is.

If you don’t, it’s a popular platform for all kinds of video streaming, primarily in content uploaded by users worldwide.

What you might not know about YouTube is that this website also has its own movie & TV catalog.

Curated and run by YouTube, this catalog features an impressive selection of movies, especially considering this isn’t even the platform’s primary service.

How to Rent or Buy Movies on YouTube

If you can’t find something to watch on streaming services, you can always rent something from YouTube.

Looking for a convenient way to enjoy your favorite movies without leaving your couch? Check out our comprehensive guide on how to rent or buy movies on YouTube.

How to rent or buy movies on YouTube

A lot of the content on YouTube Movies & TV is only viewable through buying or renting, but they also have an impressive and always-changing free selection.

You might assume these would all be old or low-quality movies, and some are, but many of them are pretty good!

You can expect about as many ads on these movies as you would from normal YouTube browsing, which is to say, more than zero but less than some of the competitors.

Vudu

If you’re looking for a more dedicated movie streaming platform, Vudu is one free service specializing in this.

They have paid and free categories, but their free catalog is quite large. I would say that it’s about on par with YouTube’s service.

One common complaint with Vudu is that it has a lot of ads.

You’re probably not going to find a legitimate movie streaming service that’s free with no ads, and that’s because they have to pay for their own services somehow.

But Vudu can have as many as four ad breaks in a single episode of a TV show. With that said, if you don’t mind ads, it’s pretty good.

Crunchyroll

This one is more of a specialty service that focuses on a specific category of content: anime. If you like anime, this is the one and only service for you.

Crunchyroll’s entire catalog is free with ads, and its category is extensive.

While it’s mostly made up of anime series, it also has plenty of anime movies and even a separate category for Eastern live-action dramas.

READ MORE: How to get free e-books for any device

One caveat is that new episodes of shows are off-limits to free users for a week after their official release.

It has ads too, but considering everything on their website is free, a few ad breaks are a fair price to pay.

If you love anime and foreign films, Crunchyroll is likely to have everything you could ever want. Give it a try!

IMDb TV

You may have heard of IMDb, a popular online information database for movies and TV shows. You might not know that Amazon owns them, and Amazon is extremely in the streaming game.

One thing Amazon has done with the popular brand is using it to start up its own free streaming service.

IMDb TV is a free-to-use parallel to Amazon’s Prime Video service, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it won’t have any good content.

Of the sites on this list, IMDb TV has perhaps one of the strongest catalogs of content available.

Most of the available movies are very popular titles, and they claim to have only half the amount of ads of a traditional TV network.

IMDb TV is a great service to check out if you’re looking for a high-quality selection of titles.

You won’t find a lot of low-budget movies or extremely old releases cluttering their catalog up, unlike most others on this list.

Crackle

Another completely free service, Crackle, has a large selection of movies with none of them behind a paywall. If an infinite supply of free movies is what you want, they’ve got it.

That’s about all they’ve got, though. Most of their featured titles are pretty unnoteworthy.

That’s not to say there are no good movies on the site, but you’re unlikely to see a lot of recognizable names or big-budget movies.

If you’re looking for specific, familiar titles, you may be disappointed with what you find here.

Still, their catalog is free to browse and use, so there’s no reason not to check it out!

Roku

If you’re looking for more of a traditional TV-styled experience, Roku might be of interest to you.

This brand is known mostly for its streaming devices made to connect to TV sets, but its “channel,” as they call it, can be accessed online for free.

The content you can expect to see on Roku is similar to what you would find with a standard cable or satellite television setup.

There’s a mix of movies, shows, and live news broadcasts to really give it that TV channel feel. Accordingly, the quality of content varies between titles.

Since Roku tries to be like a TV network, a lot of what they offer is pretty recognizable. By no means do they specialize in movies, but there are plenty there nonetheless.

Pluto TV

Very similar to Roku, Pluto TV chooses to copy the style of a traditional television network.

The movies and shows they have to choose from are par for the course with what you would expect to see on TV, and they have live-streamed content and a robust on-demand video section.

There’s not much to say about this one that hasn’t already been said about Roku.

Both are commonly included on TV-connected streaming devices, and both try to offer an experience similar to real TV channels.

The biggest difference between the two is that CBS/Paramount owns Pluto TV, meaning it’s pretty much an authentic TV channel.

If you like what’s on TV, you’ll probably like what’s on Pluto.

Popcornflix

Last on the list is Popcornflix. What makes this website special?

Not a lot, honestly.

Their whole website is free to use, which can’t be said for many of the contenders on this list, but there’s nothing special about its selection of titles.

You won’t find a lot of popular movies here, and the ones you spot will probably be old.

It also has a lot of low-budget comedy, horror, and action movies, which can be a selling point for some people.

Since their selection of movies and shows is free and easy to access, you’re not losing anything by checking it out.

If you’re the type who likes cheesy movies or isn’t picky, give it a try.

Reelgood

Get ready to say goodbye to endless scrolling and hello to endless streaming options with Reelgood, a free streaming service search engine.

With a massive selection of documentaries, movies, and TV shows at your fingertips, you’ll never be at a loss for something to watch.

How does it work? Type in the title you’re looking for, and Reelgood will tell you where you can stream it, watch it for free with ads, buy it, or rent it.

And when you’ve found what you’re looking for, click, and you’ll be directly linked to the service of your choice. No more endless scrolling or jumping between apps.

Discover the best free movie websites for unlimited streaming

So, there you have it. The sites listed above are some of the best places to watch free movies online.

If you’re tired of forking money to Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, HBO Max, Amazon Prime, and a half-dozen other streaming services – save some money and check out the options above to watch movies for free.

Have any thoughts on this? Carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• How to watch Disney+ movies in IMAX resolution
• Can the PlayStation 5 play DVD movies?
• Can the Xbox Series X play DVD movies?
• How to cancel your Netflix subscription after the latest price hike

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

The post The best places to watch free movies online appeared first on KnowTechie.

Revealed in an interview with MrBeast on YouTube’s blog page, the latest feature on the video platform allows creators to dub their videos.

The company has been testing this feature out with a handful of creators, including MrBeast, over the last year. In that testing, nearly 3,500 multi-language videos were uploaded in more than 40 languages.

Additionally, around 15 percent of the views on those videos came from viewers watching in a different language than the original video.

Now, the feature is rolling out more broadly to other creators on the platform.

YouTube built the technology to allow users to add multiple audio tracks to their videos, but the creator is responsible for providing the tracks themselves.

To add different audio dubs to a video, a creator can upload the files in the Subtitles Editor. Then, viewers can check a video’s settings and see what languages are available.

Need closed captions on YouTube?

YouTube’s closed captions aren’t perfect, but they can be a huge help for many people.

Here’s how to turn on closed captions on YouTube

This is a major update that should help the platform, creators, and viewers. Now, creators like MrBeast won’t have to have multiple channels for different languages.

Additionally, YouTube is able to serve an even wider audience, bringing the site’s wide range of content to viewers of different languages.

Have any thoughts on this? Drop us a line below in the comments, or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• New Nvidia AI tech unblurs grainy YouTube videos
• Google Play Store apps are lying about your data privacy
• Study shows AirPods can be used as affordable hearing aids
• YouTube is now the home of NFL Sunday Ticket

The post YouTube now lets creators dub videos in other languages appeared first on KnowTechie.