NewTube – a fast, touch-first, open-source YouTube client for Android
SmartTube is how I watch YouTube on the TV, and I wanted the same thing on my phone. So I built NewTube: an unofficial, open-source YouTube client for Android phones and tablets. It keeps SmartTube's engine by yuliskov, with a new interface and network changes for phones on top.
Built for touch. Material Design from scratch: bottom navigation, a mini-player you drag down while you keep browsing, snackbars with Undo, light and dark themes.
Tuned for mobile data. On a Pixel 9, Home is fully loaded in about 1.4 s on Wi-Fi (1.6 s on LTE), and a related video shows its first frame in about half a second on both (medians from my own test runs). My carrier stalls some video servers, so the app switches route mid-request and remembers the fix for that network. When the connection drops, it waits and tries once when it comes back instead of spinning.
And the rest:
- Sign in with your Google account in a few taps. Google's own page opens, you allow access, and you're back with your subscriptions, playlists, history and recommendations. No microG, no GmsCore, no patched app. Signing in is optional.
- Background play and picture-in-picture, with lock-screen and headset controls.
- Save for offline in the quality you pick (up to 1080p), or keep just the audio.
- SponsorBlock, DeArrow and Return YouTube Dislike, carried over from SmartTube.
- Cast to your TV: pair with SmartTube on the TV using its Remote control code, or play straight to a Chromecast.
Good to know
- If you tried SmarterTube (another SmartTube phone fork, posted here in June): NewTube's differences are its interface, its network changes for mobile data, and offline saving. Screenshots are on the GitHub page, so try both and keep the one you like.
- MIT licensed. No analytics, crash reporting or ad SDKs. Android 7.0+, with its own package name, so it installs next to SmartTube or the YouTube app.
- Much of NewTube's own code was written with AI coding assistants (Claude and Codex). I direct it, review it and use it every day, and each release lists what was tested on a real phone.
- Known limits: offline saving tops out at 1080p and skips subtitles, YouTube still refuses the odd video, and one tester's Xiaomi phone hits a playback error after a while that I'm still tracking down.
- Not affiliated with Google, YouTube or SmartTube's developer, so please report bugs on NewTube's GitHub, not SmartTube's.
Download: github.com/aleixrodriala/newtube/releases/latest
Source: aleixrodriala/newtube
Happy to answer anything. Bug reports are very welcome.
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NewTube – a fast, touch-first, open-source YouTube client for Android SmartTube is how I watch YouTube on the TV, and I wanted the same thing on my phone. So I built NewTube: an unofficial, open-source YouTube client for Android phones and tablets. It keeps SmartTube's engine by yuliskov, with a new interface and network changes for phones on top. Built for touch. Material Design from scratch: bottom navigation, a mini-player you drag down while you keep browsing, snackbars with Undo, light and dark themes. Tuned for mobile data. On a Pixel 9, Home is fully loaded in about 1.4 s on Wi-Fi (1.6 s on LTE), and a related video shows its first frame in about half a second on both (medians from my own test runs). My carrier stalls some video servers, so the app switches route mid-request and remembers the fix for that network. When the connection drops, it waits and tries once when it comes back instead of spinning. And the rest: - Sign in with your Google account in a few taps. Google's own page opens, you allow access, and you're back with your subscriptions, playlists, history and recommendations. No microG, no GmsCore, no patched app. Signing in is optional. - Background play and picture-in-picture, with lock-screen and headset controls. - Save for offline in the quality you pick (up to 1080p), or keep just the audio. - SponsorBlock, DeArrow and Return YouTube Dislike, carried over from SmartTube. - Cast to your TV: pair with SmartTube on the TV using its Remote control code, or play straight to a Chromecast. Good to know - If you tried SmarterTube (another SmartTube phone fork, posted here in June): NewTube's differences are its interface, its network changes for mobile data, and offline saving. Screenshots are on the GitHub page, so try both and keep the one you like. - MIT licensed. No analytics, crash reporting or ad SDKs. Android 7.0+, with its own package name, so it installs next to SmartTube or the YouTube app. - Much of NewTube's own code was written with AI coding assistants (Claude and Codex). I direct it, review it and use it every day, and each release lists what was tested on a real phone. - Known limits: offline saving tops out at 1080p and skips subtitles, YouTube still refuses the odd video, and one tester's Xiaomi phone hits a playback error after a while that I'm still tracking down. - Not affiliated with Google, YouTube or SmartTube's developer, so please report bugs on NewTube's GitHub, not SmartTube's. Download: github.com/aleixrodriala/newtube/releases/latest Source: aleixrodriala/newtube Happy to answer anything. Bug reports are very welcome.
Show HN: NewTube - A fast, touch-first YouTube client for Android