X Enhances Mobile Experience with New Vertical Video Player
In a significant move to bolster its video content offerings, X has unveiled an immersive video player designed to enhance user engagement, particularly on mobile devices. Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, announced the update earlier this week, acknowledging that the previous video player badly needed a refresh. This redesign aims to make video consumption more engaging and user-friendly, especially on mobile devices.
The update, currently rolling out to iOS users, allows videos to expand to full screen with a single tap. Once in full-screen mode, viewers can swipe up to scroll to the next video, a feature reminiscent of TikTok’s popular format. This approach aligns with broader industry trends, where vertical videos dominate platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels. Even streaming services have adopted the format, with Disney+ being the most recent to introduce a vertical video feed.
While the new player aims to enhance mobile video viewing, some users have expressed concerns about the update forcing all videos into a cropped, full-screen view, removing the option to view content in its original aspect ratio. In response to user feedback, Bier confirmed that portrait orientation is preferred, stating, Sorry, but cropping the video incentivized people to post square videos. We are a mobile company. He also noted that X will stop cropping vertical content moving forward.
The timing of X’s update is notable, given that last month TikTok’s U.S. operations were sold to an American investor group. X is positioning itself as a competitor, ramping up its video features to attract both viewers and creators. This recent introduction of the video player follows X’s launch of a dedicated vertical video feed that became available globally last year. The company is also incorporating AI-driven tools, such as Grok’s text-to-video generation feature.
Notably, Grok’s image-generation capability recently sparked controversy, leading to its restriction to paying subscribers on X, due to the tool allowing users to create sexualized and nude images of women and children.
As X continues to invest in video-centric features, it is clear that the platform is committed to evolving its user experience to meet the growing demand for vertical video content.
