YouTube has recently announced a series of new features aimed at providing users with a better television viewing experience. These updates include QR code shopping, AI-driven video quality enhancement, and more accurate content search.
It is reported that YouTube's new QR code shopping feature allows content creators to add QR codes for specific products in their videos. Viewers can simply scan the QR code with their mobile phone to quickly jump to the product purchase page. This feature is expected to help creators of shopping-related content increase their income, as the total watch time for such videos reached 35 billion hours last year. In addition, the number of channels earning six figures or more through television platforms increased by 45% over the past year.
Notably, although QR code shopping is not new to YouTube, platforms like Roku and Peacock have also adopted similar technologies. However, YouTube emphasizes that its new feature can more effectively link creators' online stores, helping them promote and sell products. In addition, YouTube is testing a "timed product display" feature, allowing viewers to see recommended products at specific points in the video.
Aside from shopping features, YouTube is also committed to improving the overall viewing experience. For example, the file size limit for thumbnails has been increased from 2MB to 50MB to support the display of 4K high-resolution images. At the same time, YouTube is collaborating with some creators to test larger video uploads, which may support higher quality video content in the future.

In terms of technological innovation, YouTube has launched an AI feature that automatically converts low-resolution videos into full HD format, and plans to further upgrade to 4K resolution in the future. The official stated that content creators will retain the original video files, and users can also choose to watch the video in the original resolution. The actual effect of this technology still needs to be tested in the market, but YouTube hopes to match the television experience of its competitors.
In addition, YouTube has optimized the way content is discovered. When users search on a creator's channel page, the platform will prioritize displaying the videos of that channel, improving the relevance and efficiency of the search. These series of new features demonstrate YouTube's determination to consolidate its position in the television industry.
Key Points:
📱 New QR code shopping feature, allowing viewers to directly purchase products in the video.
🖼️ Improve video quality, AI automatically converts low-resolution videos into high-definition format.
🔍 Optimize content search, improve the efficiency of video searching within the channel.
