YouTube is soon expected to remove this ‘important’ tab from the platform

Google has been adding new features to YouTube to make the user experience better. In pursuit of that, the company has started experimenting with a new feature on the platform that replaces the ‘Explore’ tab with a navigation drawer.
The new change was announced via a post on Telegram by the Google News official account. The post reads, “YouTube on Android experimenting with replacing the “Explore” button with a navigation drawer. Previously, in front of the filter carousel at the top of the home page, there was a “Explore” button that opened a separate page. It has now been replaced by a button that brings up a side navigation pane. When navigating with gestures, the panel can also be called in the usual way – by holding it on the left side of the screen. The sidebar is only available on the home tab.”
If you remember, the YouTube app has an Explore tab at the top filter section. Tapping on the button opens up a new page with suggested content from different genres based on the user’s interest.
As a part of this new experiment, Google is replacing the ‘Explore’ tab with a new button that will open a new side navigation pane. The new side navigation page carries more options like Trending, Music, Live, Gaming, Sports, etc. The new navigation pane is basically an extension that provides shortcuts to different genres allowing users to navigate easily within the app.
The Telegram post also mentions that the new navigation pane can be accessed in the usual way — by holding it on the left side of the screen. Also, the sidebar is only available on the home tab.
For those who don’t remember, the Explore tab basically offers the same options, but in a much more detailed way and suggestions. Google appears to be recreating that experience in a much more subtle manner compared to the entire ‘Explore’ page dedicated to it.