- YouTube is rolling out an accessibility-based feature that allows vertical Shorts videos to play in a landscape orientation.
- The Rotate Shorts option changes UI elements for sideway viewing but shrinks the video so much.
- This feature is likely intended for users with motor impairments or specific setups like mounted landscape-mode devices.
By design, YouTube Shorts, just like Instagram Reels and TikTok videos, are all vertical videos. They’re meant to be consumed with your phone in portrait mode, fill the entire screen, and are designed to keep you swiping and watching more. Shorts are not meant to be consumed in landscape, but YouTube is now bringing that option as an accessibility feature to its mobile app.
An option for Rotate Shorts has shown up on my Pixel 9 Pro XL under YouTube’s Settings > Accessibility. When I enabled it, I noticed that if I rotate my phone to landscape mode and I have auto-rotate on for my entire phone, the Shorts will switch to a new landscape orientation with controls on the right and a scrub bar at the bottom. The video itself, because it’s been shot in portrait, looks so tiny and so impractical to watch on a modern phone display, especially with narrow ~20:9 display ratios. Watching Shorts like this feels as pointless as watching landscape YouTube videos while holding the phone upright.