Microsoft releases new YouTube app for Windows Phone after Google drama

Microsoft has launched a new fully featured YouTube app for Windows Phone 8 that has Google’s full blessing.

Earlier this year, Microsoft and YouTube owner Google had a spat over Microsoft building an unsanctioned YouTube app for Windows Phone. Google said it wasn’t happy Microsoft’s initial app violated YouTube’s terms of service. Eventually the two companies resolved their differences and said they’d work together on a new YouTube app for Windows Phone.

Now that app is here, and it includes some important new features that improve the capabilities of the Windows Phone 8 platform. The most notable new feature is video uploading straight to YouTube, which was one of the things we desperately wanted when we tested the Lumia 1020. You can also now stream live video channels and control your profile page, which details your favorites, likes, playlists, uploads, subscriptions, and more.

“We’ve released an updated YouTube app for Windows Phone that provides the great experience our consumers expect while addressing the concerns Google expressed in May, including the addition of ads,” a Microsoft spokesperson told VentureBeat today. “We appreciate Google’s support in ensuring that Windows Phones customers have a quality YouTube experience and look forward to continuing the collaboration.”

The new app is missing one cool feature that was included in the last version — video downloading. However, that was one of the things Google did not like about the original app, and it likely had to be pulled so things like video uploads could be added.