SmartTube is an open-source cross-platform advanced multimedia player for Android TV and Smart TV devices that you can download for free. This app is used to play YouTube videos with improved user experience. There are several restrictions on YouTube such as multiple ad appearances in a single video, content restrictions, privacy concerns, algorithm bias, and more. SmartTube is the best app to overcome from all these issues and explore YouTube in a better and more productive way.
YouTube’s algorithm benefits its business but limits viewers’ exploration. It only presents content aligned with your interests, preventing exposure to unique material that could enhance your learning. Therefore, you’ll miss out on valuable information outside your usual preferences.
The platform has a very smart advertisement algorithm. YouTube has often been accused of monitoring users’ browsing history, activity, location, and other personal information so that they can show relevant ads at the right time to make business but it significantly impacts user privacy.
If you’re searching for a way to get rid of all the restrictions posed by YouTube for a better viewing experience then SmartTube is the best choice which is already being used by millions of people around the world and has great reviews and ratings. Scroll down to see more interesting facts and features of this free open source platform and hit the download button to get it installed on your device.
About SmartTube
SmartTube is a feature-rich media player that is developed by Yuriy L (@yuliskov). It allows users to access ad-free YouTube and enjoy the premium services of this platform without spending any money. SmartTube has a wider range of compatibility and also works on devices that do not support Google Services.
Even though SmartTube is a third-party developed app, you can sign in to your Google account and access all the liked videos and subscribed YouTube channels. You can also perform all the actions such as any video and create a watch list within this app.
It offers several additional features that are not present in the official YouTube app and these features are very useful and elevate user viewing experience. The app works finest on TV screens but you can also use it on Android phones. It supports up to 8K video resolution and you can utilize an external keyboard to type your query in the search bar.
How to Make SmartTube a Default app?
Many smart TVs and Google TV remotes have a YouTube button on them. If your device has a separate YouTube button and you want to use that button to open the SmartTube app, this can be done easily. You have the option to modify the default behavior of the YouTube button so that it launches the Smart Tube app when pressed. For this, we are going to use the Button Mapper app which is freely available on the Google Play Store.
- Start by downloading and installing the Button Mapper from the official app store on your TV.
- You have to allow accessibility settings to make this app function properly. A popup window will appear when opening this app for the very first time. so click on ‘Ok’.
- After tapping on the Ok button, your device’s settings will be open so scroll down a bit and tap on the System >> Accessibility and tap on the Button Mapper and enable the accessibility option.
- Relaunch the Button Mapper app on your TV and click on the ‘Add Buttons’ and press the YouTube button on the screen.
- The app will create a new button when you tap on the YouTube button so click on the newly created button and enable customize.
- Tap on the SIngle tap option and choose the SmartTube application and save the settings.
- Now, go back to the home screen and tap on the YouTube button on the remote, it will launch the YouTube app (by default).
Also See – Difference Between SmartTube and YouTube
Exciting Features of SmartTube
SmartTube offers advanced customization options for a personalized viewing experience. Users can change theme color, media player layout, playback settings, and so on. Let’s check out some of the key highlights of this app that make it better than a standard YouTube app.
User Interface
The design and theme of SmartTube is inspired by YouTube. When you open the app, it shows all the YouTube videos on the home screen, and tap on the profile icon to sign in to your Google account to access all the subscribed channels and personalized recommendations. Go to the menu section to explore various other options including Trending, Kids, Gaming, Music, etc.
Playback Settings
Just like the official YouTube, the Smart Tube app allows you to adjust the video quality as needed. You can manually customize the video quality, video format, audio quality, sound pitch effects, and automatic frame rates.
Just like the official YouTube platform, the Smart Tube app enables you to change the video quality according to your preferences. You have the option to manually configure video quality, select video formats, adjust audio quality and sound pitch effects, as well as set automatic frame rates.
Subtitle Customization
Unlike the official YouTube app, this open-source media player allows users to customize subtitle background color, text size, font style, and test color as per personal preference for clear visibility of the subtitle in any condition. You can easily shift the subtitle position from the bottom to anywhere on the screen.
Ad Blocker
The latest version of this app has a very effective ad-blocking system that is programmed to disable the YouTube ad code and it directly starts playing the video without showing any advertisement. The app itself does not have any ads so you can browse through unlimited videos and scroll for hours without worrying about being interrupted by any ads.
Sponsor Block
Many YouTube videos feature sponsored content where creators promote products or services. If you prefer to skip these sections, SmartTube has teamed up with SponsorBlock, a crowdsourced browser extension that detects and removes paid promotion parts from videos. You can customize the SponsorBlock feature and also set an automatic skip for the intro, sponsored part, and a reminder to like and subscribe to the YouTube channel.
Cast Videos From Phone
In order to cast videos from the YouTube app on your phone to the SmartTube app on your Smart TV, you need to connect both apps to each other. To proceed, open the SmartTube app on your TV and go to the app settings then tap on the Link Devices option then click on Add Device to get a code.
Remember that code and open the YouTube app on your phone then go to the YouTube settings and scroll down a bit and tap on the Watch on TV option then click on Enter TV Code and type the code that you get in the SmartTube app. Now, your YouTube app has been connected to your Smart Tube app. Now you can play any video and easily stream on your TV screen.
Picture-in-Picture (PiP)
The app has a PiP feature which means you will be able to minimize the video player into a small window that will play the video in the background and only consume a small section of the whole screen and you can use the rest of the screen to access other apps or perform other tasks such as browsing, chatting, email or anything else.
SmartTube APK Installation Process For Android TV
Android TV and Smart TV users can easily sideload this app. If you have a web browser on your TV then simply visit our website and download the APK file or you can pursue the simple installation guide mentioned below to install this app with ease.
- Open the Google Play Store on your TV and search the ‘AFTVnews Downloader app’ and install it.
- Go to the Settings of your TV and tap on Security & Restrictions then enable the Unknown Sources that allows you to sideload third-party apps on your TV.
- Launch the Downloader app and enter this code ‘586096‘ in the URL field then tap on the ‘Go’ button.
- After that, the downloading will be started and once the downloading is finished, an install button will appear on the screen so tap on it to install the app.
- Go back to the home screen and scroll down to the app section to find the SmartTube app and click on it to open this app on your TV.
- Now, you can enjoy watching YouTube without ad interruption and have an improved user experience.
SmartTube APK Installation Process For Firestick
For Firestick devices, the process for downloading, installing, and setting up the SmartTube APK is quite straightforward. But if this is your first time installing a third-party app on your TV then don’t worry, here is the step-by-step tutorial.
- Firstly, Open ‘Smarttubeapp.com‘ on your mobile phone and tap on the download button given on above to get the SmartTube APK file on your phone.
- Download the Send Files to TV app on your Firestick device and Android phone from the Google Play Store
- Make sure your phone and TV are connected with the same Wifi or you can turn on the Hotspot on your phone then connect your phone to the TV.
- Launch this sharing app on your TV as well and click on the ‘Receive’ button.
- Open the Send Files to TV app on your phone and allow storage permission then tap on the ‘Send’ button.
- Locate the folder where the APK file is saved and click on it then tap on the send button.
- Now, your TV name will appear on the screen so click on it and the APK file will be sent to your TV.
- Go to Settings > Security & Restrictions > Turn on Unknown Sources.
- Open any File Manager app on your TV and search to find the SmartTube APK file then click on to install the app.
Global Voice Search
Even if you have the SmartTube app installed on your TV but when you use voice search to search for anything and click on the video, it will open the official YouTube app and show ads. To fix this, you have to install the Bridge app on your device which will forcefully open the SmartTube app instead of the YouTube app.
To make it happen, you have to uninstall or disable the YouTube app, don’t worry you can easily reinstall YouTube anytime within a few taps. Once you remove the YouTube app and then set up the bridge app which will not show in your device’s app drawer, it works internally and makes favorable adjustments in the system voice search functionality.
On some devices, users may have to say YouTube before saying the search query. For example, when you tap on the voice button in your TV remote, you have to say ‘YouTube London Vlog’ instead of just saying ‘London Vlog’.
Here you can download the Bridge app for your TV that you can easily sideload on your device by using the Downloader by AFTVnews app:
| For Amazon Fire TV | Download Bridge app |
| For Google Chromecast with Google TV | Download Bridge app |
| For Other Android devices | Download Bridge app |
FAQs
Conclusion
If you want a version of YouTube that has no restrictions, age limitations, ad-free viewing experience and no tracking of your activities then download the SmartTube APK which is the best open-source media player that allows users to watch YouTube with a much-improved user experience. This app is specifically designed to be used on big TV screen devices. It is very easy to sideload this app on Smart TV and Firestick devices for free of cost.
Your time is valuable—don’t waste it on ads or sponsored content. SmartTube blocks ads and allows users to set up auto-skip intros, sponsorships, and subscribe reminders, so you can focus on quality content. Did you know SponsorBlock has been used to skip over 13 million segments, saving more than 5,748 years of human life? So why do you still see the ads, download SmartTube and get rid of ads today