New Playlist touch controls are more challenging for accessibility: Dragging rewinds/fast-forwards less precise and may trigger unintended actions

[Saoiray]

Description

The latest Playlist update has introduced changes to the video player controls, creating usability challenges.

In the previous version of Playlist, users could tap and drag anywhere on the video screen to rewind or fast-forward seamlessly. The current version requires precise interaction with the small "radio button" on the timestamp progress bar to perform these actions.

When attempting to interact with the radio button, the system often fails to register the action correctly, instead interpreting it as an attempt to drag the video itself. This causes the video player to shift to the side, as though dismissing it, without rewinding or fast-forwarding.

This update has significantly reduced ease of use, particularly for users who rely on accessible design features, making the interaction more cumbersome and less intuitive.

Video Example I’ve recorded a screen recording demonstrating this issue (please note that finger placement cannot be seen in the video): https://youtu.be/lppcBI-ss6o

Steps to reproduce

1. Open Playlist.
2. Attempt to tap and drag on the screen to rewind or fast-forward.

Actual result

Instead of rewinding or fast-forwarding, the video is dragged as if to dismiss, and the progress remains unchanged.

Expected result

Tapping and dragging should seamlessly adjust the video’s progress (rewind/fast-forward).

Reproduces how often

Easily reproduced

Brave version

Brave 1.71 (125)

Device/iOS version

iOS 18.1, iPhone 13 Pro Max

Affected browser versions

• [x] latest AppStore
• [ ] latest TestFlight
• [ ] previous TestFlight

Reproducibility

• [ ] with Brave Shields disabled
• [ ] in the latest version of mobile Safari

Miscellaneous information

Originally reported at https://community.brave.com/t/loss-of-accessibility-with-new-player-in-playlist/581367

[kylehickinson]

Thanks for bringing this up @Saoiray, I don't know if we'll reintroduce dragging the video to scrub, but there's indeed something odd going on with the tap regions in fullscreen mode as we definitely have extra space around the scrubber that still activate the scrubber. I'll see if I can improve it

[Saoiray]

I don't know if we'll reintroduce dragging the video to scrub, but there's indeed something odd going on with the tap regions in fullscreen mode as we definitely have extra space around the scrubber that still activate the scrubber. I'll see if I can improve it

Thanks @kylehickinson for addressing this so quickly! It's great to see progress might be on the way, though I noticed it mentioned for versions 1.74-1.75. Not sure if that means it's still a ways off or how the changes will be implemented.

Also, just wanted to share that another user brought this up today on Community: https://community.brave.com/t/new-playlist-in-braveios-is-a-downgrade/582375.

They also mentioned missing the ability to scrub videos by dragging, which I agree was quite convenient. The current setup of dragging the video around feels a bit unclear in purpose. I know you’re actively reviewing feedback from Community and elsewhere to refine things, so I appreciate the effort. Thanks again!

[kjozwiak]

The above requires 1.74.11 or higher for 1.74.x verification 👍

[kylehickinson]

@Saoiray I'll forward this along and see what we can do, I agree it does seem like usability wise scrubbing anywhere on the video is more useful than exiting fullscreen by gesture (what the dragging was meant for hah)

I'll open a new issue specifically for the dragging left/right aspect to scrub and tag you on it

As for the versions, 1.73 is the next release but is basically finalized and going out soon so this fix will be going into the next version after that.

Thanks again for your input!