YouTube for Windows Phone 8 is now a full-fledged app

Windows Phone 8 users are going to love Microsoft for this. The YouTube on your Windows Phone has finally gone from being a glorified wrapper to a full-fledged app.

In a major design overhaul of the application, the update is already available in the Windows Phone Store. The redesigned app incorporates the design elements of Windows Phone 8. Not just the design, but a lot of Windows Phone 8 features have been added to the app too.

You will now be able to pin videos, playlists, channels as well as search queries to Start as Live Tiles for faster access. The tile will flip to show the latest video from your subscription or the most popular one. You can now even use YouTube as a music player by letting a video play in the background while you continue to do what you were doing, even in the locked screen.

Now with a whole new look

A “new and innovative” playlist design is bundled along with this update too. The newly designed way to access your playlist will use a touch-friendly filmstrip-like design. Of course, if it’s a YouTube app, it has to have a strong social angle to it. You can now share videos on social networks as well as via email and text.

Google has made sure it makes optimal usage of all Windows 8 features for this YouTube tweak. You will now be able to pin YouTube to the Kid’s Corner of your phone and limit content your child views based on YouTube Safety Mode settings that you control.

What’s more is that YouTube has promised a similar update for Windows Phone 7.5 too. Earlier, the “app” on Windows Phone was nothing but a bookmark that sent you to YouTube’s mobile web.

Earlier in January, accusations flew thick and fast between Microsoft and Google over the development of YouTube for Windows Phone. Microsoft had alleged via a blog post that Google was preventing it from offering consumers a fully featured YouTube app for Windows Phone.

A few months later, it looks like the two giants have mended their relationship keeping the consumer in mind. This could possibly mean better updates and features for Google apps on Microsoft’s platform. We’re not complaining!

Since the update has been posted recently, Microsoft warns that it might take a while to appear on the Windows Phone Store. If you already have the app, you should see a notification informing you about the update soon. For the rest of you guys who had to rely on third-party apps to watch videos on your Windows Phone 8, grab the revamped YouTube app from the Windows Phone Store here.