Facebook is rolling out a new fullscreen video player for Reels, longer videos, and Live broadcasts. This updated design introduces uniformity to video viewing on Facebook for all videos, regardless of length, now in a consistent fullscreen format, that resembles TikTok.
The new video player now rolling out on iOS and Android in the U.S. and Canada first (and globally in the “coming months”), comes with improved controls such as a fullscreen mode for horizontal videos, a slider for easy navigation through longer content, and quick-access buttons that allow users to pause or skip forward or backward by 10 seconds.
“Within the upgraded fullscreen video player, we’ll also have improved recommendations for videos of all lengths we think you’re most likely to enjoy based on your interests,” said Meta.
With this update, users tapping on a video within the Facebook app will now enter fullscreen, vertically oriented playback by default.
There is a landscape viewing option for horizontal videos with just a tap. There’s now also a scrubber function to jump to specific sections of a video. There’s a slider at the bottom of the player, just like TikTok to let you jump to any part of a video.
Beyond the player itself, Facebook is also updating its recommendation algorithm to show more relevant videos in users’ Feeds and on the Video Tab, again like TikTok’s creepy algorithm that knows your preferences all too well.
“These updates also mean that more types of creators will have more opportunities to tap into additional audiences they might not have reached before,” concluded Meta. We’re already seeing this new video player live in Canada right now on iOS. Let us know if you are too in the comments.
