Summary
- Samsung has introduced synced live YouTube playback controls across devices in One UI 7.
- This feature allows for live notifications & playback controls for YouTube videos playing on smart TV to appear on your Galaxy phone.
- One UI 7 also brings live notifications for local YouTube video playback.
Samsung has given its Android skin a major overhaul with One UI 7. While most changes focus on improving the user experience, the company has added several handy features and tweaks. One change that has quietly flown under the radar is the addition of synced live YouTube playback controls across devices.
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Based on a tip, the team at SammyGuru made an interesting discovery on their Galaxy Z Fold SE running the stable One UI 7 firmware. It displayed a live notification for a YouTube video playing on a smart TV — complete with a progress bar and playback controls. The notification appeared despite the TV not supporting Google Cast and regardless of the distance between the devices. It also continued working despite the two devices not being on the same Wi-Fi network.
The cross-device live playback notifications only work with YouTube and do not support other streaming apps like Netflix or Disney+.
Samsung seems to have quietly added this feature to the stable One UI 7 release, as it does not work on the Galaxy S25 Ultra running the latest Android 15 beta firmware. Presumably, it should also be a part of the stable One UI 7 firmware for the Galaxy S24, Z Fold 6, and Flip 6.
The Galaxy S25 series will likely gain access to cross-device live YouTube playback controls with the upcoming April update.
YouTube gains support for live notifications in One UI 7
On the Galaxy S25 series, YouTube controls appear in the Now Bar on the lock screen for videos you stream on the phone.
With the stable One UI 7 release, Samsung has further deepened YouTube integration by adding support for live notifications. So, if you swipe up in the YouTube app to return to the home screen, the video will continue playing in a PiP window with a live notification appearing in the top-left corner of the status bar. Tapping it provides quick access to playback controls.
This behavior differs from that on the Galaxy S25 running One UI 7, where YouTube playback only appears as a standard media notification in the status bar. Samsung seems to be rolling out this change as part of the latest Google Play services update, so it should soon come to the Galaxy S25 lineup too.
