iWorld
YouTube redesigns mobile app; adds new tabs
MUMBAI: If you watched a YouTube video recently, chances are you did it on your phone or tablet and also saw the new look and design of the app.
With more than half the views on YouTube coming from mobile devices, YouTube has now updated the official YouTube apps to bring an even better mobile experience to consumers thus making it easier than ever to find and create videos.
The update – available now on Android, mobile web, and soon on iOS – introduces three new tabs:
• Home: Easily explore and discover videos with recommendations based on watch history as well as personalized playlists.
• Subscriptions: Find the latest videos from your favorite channels and creators on the new Subscriptions tab. And to help make sure one never misses an upload, consumers can now tap the bell icon on channels to get a notification as soon as a new video is posted.
• Account: One can check out playlists, watch history, and the videos they have uploaded all in one spot.
Additionally, in the new updated app, one can also now watch full-screen vertical videos with just a single tap for the very first time.
“But YouTube isn’t just about enjoying videos; it’s a place to express yourself and show the world what you love. With the redesigned app you can take your creativity to new levels using a new set of video creation tools. You’ve got an amazing camera in your phone or tablet, and now you can trim your footage, tint the image with filters, add music, and upload – all inside the app,” said YouTube product managers Matt Darby and Omri Amarilio.
“These are just a few of the features we’ve been working on, and you’ll see many more later this year,” the duo added.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
