Android users finally get YouTube TV parity with iPhone
YouTube TV is the biggest live-streaming service in the U.S., and multiview — the ability to watch more than one thing at a time — is a big reason why. And after having spent a couple months on iPhones and iPads, it’s now finally available on Android phones and tablets.
You don’t have to do anything more than make sure your app is updated. The feature itself is included in the monthly subscription and doesn’t cost any extra.
YouTube TV still hasn’t enabled multiview carte blanche, though. For example, you can’t just throw together two- and four-channel blocks and watch whatever you want. You’re still limited to sports, news, business, and weather. And while YouTube TV has said it’s opening things up eventually so that you can choose the exact channels within those categories, right now you’re still at the mercy of the programming gods. You get the multiview channels someone else wants you to have.
Buy at YouTube TVStill, even in its limited form, it’s a great option. And it’s one you’ll almost certainly want to take advantage of come fall if you also subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket, which enters its second season as an exclusive on YouTube TV.
Multiview is more useful on a bigger screen, for obvious reasons, but it’s still pretty good even on a smallish phone.
YouTube TV itself is available on every major platform, from Android and Google TV to iPhones, iPads, and Apple TV. It’s also on Roku and Amazon Fire TV, and you can watch in a web browser, too. The base plan costs about $73 a month, and YouTube TV has a world of add-ons that can make it that much more powerful a streaming service. There’s also the ability to watch a decent amount of content in 4K resolution.