YouTube Music redesigns moves Search to the bottom bar
YouTube Music is moving Search into the bottom bar, replacing Explore and making the app easier to use one-handed.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
Google is rolling out a YouTube Music redesign that swaps Explore out of the bottom bar and puts Search there instead. The change keeps the rest of the navigation intact while preserving access to the old Explore content inside Search.
YouTube Music moved its search button to the bottom row, like moving a favorite remote button closer to a hand. The app still has the same music sections, but finding songs should now feel quicker and easier.
Analysis
What changed
YouTube Music is replacing the Explore tab in the bottom bar with Search. The rest of the bottom navigation stays the same: Home, Samples, and Library are unchanged. In the top-right corner, the app now keeps only the profile menu and the Activity/notifications feed.
How Search works now
Tapping the magnifying glass opens the keyboard right away so users can start typing immediately. Voice search and song search are still available. After the search entry point, the app shows recent queries first, then surfaces much of the old Explore page experience, including New releases, Charts, Moods & genres, and Podcasts. The article says users will also see more recent searches after that, along with a “You may also like” section.
Rollout details
According to 9to5Google, Google has been testing this change since last year. The publication says it is now rolling out in version 9.22 on iOS and 9.21 on Android. If the redesign is not visible yet, the article says a force stop from App Info may help, and that availability appears to be fairly wide as of the afternoon of publication.
Bottom line
The update is mostly about reachability and convenience rather than a dramatic feature addition. It makes Search easier to reach with one hand while preserving the old Explore content inside the new flow.
Key points
- Search now replaces Explore in YouTube Music's bottom navigation bar.
- Home, Samples, and Library stay in the bottom bar without changes.
- The top-right corner is now mainly for profile and notifications.
- Search still includes voice and song search, plus recent queries and old Explore sections.
- Google is rolling it out on iOS 9.22 and Android 9.21.
If the rollout holds up, the new layout should make YouTube Music faster to use with one hand and easier to navigate. Keeping the old Explore content inside Search may also help users find music without losing discovery features.
Users who liked having Explore in the bottom bar may find the new layout less familiar at first. The change also depends on rollout consistency, so some people may not see it right away even if they are on the listed app versions.
