SmartTube Next is a new app for watching YouTube on Android TV and media consoles. It was created as a replacement for the old Smart YouTube TV application.
It is an unofficial open-source YouTube client. Its main priorities are stability and speed. And, of course, the absence of any advertising.
The application has a multilingual interface, and also requires an android version of at least 4.3 Jelly Bean installed on the device. No ads. The full-fledged release was released by the author on August 15, 2021.
The SmartTubeNext APK allows you to sign in to your account and access all your subscriptions, liked videos, playlists, shared content, and history as you wish. It’s just a way of telling users they can get more control of YouTube and its options at no premium cost. Yes, that’s right, the app also comes with YouTube premium features for free.
SmartTube Next features:
- Get a detailed overview of the news, games or music
- View videos in all available resolutions
- new animated previews for videos
- Sign in to your YouTube account
- View subscriptions, history, or playlists
- Android TV channels and search support available
Updating
The app has a built-in updater. You only need to follow the installation procedure once. A few seconds after launching SmartTubeNext, it will notify you if there is any update and also show a changelog. You can disable disable automatic update checks or manually update in the settings under “about”.
Compatibility
SmartTubeNext requires Android 4.3 or above. It does not work on non-Android devices. This is a TV app, so it mostly does not work on smartphones or tablets.
It has been successfully tested on TVs, TV boxes and TV sticks that are based on Android, including:
- Android TVs & Google TVs (e.g. Philips, Sony)
- NVIDIA Shield
- Amazon FireTV stick
- Chromecast with Google TV
- TV boxes running Android (many cheap chinese no-name boxes)
- Xiaomi Mi Box
Why was it decided not to develop the old Smart YouTube TV app, but to create the new SmartTube Next? There are several reasons – frequent changes in Google code, slow navigation and launch speed, and most importantly – problems with adding new functionality. This was enough to redesign the application from scratch.
Starting with beta version 4.6, the app now allows you to change various video player settings and to like, dislike or subscribe to videos. You can also view all of your channel’s content with a subscription. Search by tags, titles and usernames.
