VERTICAL OR HORIZONTAL? WHY CHOOSE WHEN YOU CAN DO BOTH ON YOUTUBE

YouTube has revolutionised broadcasting by allowing creators to stream simultaneously in vertical and horizontal formats. With a shared live chat connecting mobile and desktop viewers, creators no longer have to choose an audience. This seamless dual-format integration maximises reach, simplifies community building, and ensures you meet fans exactly where they are.

For years, the digital creator’s greatest dilemma was a question of geometry: do you film for the cinematic, horizontal expanse of a television or the intimate, vertical slice of a smartphone? Until recently, choosing one often meant neglecting the other. A creator streaming a high-octane gaming session or a detailed makeup tutorial in landscape mode was essentially invisible to the millions of viewers scrolling through the vertical-only Shorts feed. Conversely, going “portrait-mode” meant losing the immersive quality of a widescreen experience. But in a move that is fundamentally reshaping how we interact with live media, YouTube has shattered this binary choice, introducing a dual-streaming feature that allows creators to occupy both worlds simultaneously.

This technological leap is not just about convenience; it is a response to a massive shift in human behaviour. By early 2026, mobile devices will have become the primary lens through which the world views content, with YouTube Shorts alone amassing over 100 billion daily views. Yet, at the same time, the “Connected TV” market has seen YouTube become the single most-watched streaming platform on the big screen in the United States. Creators were increasingly “stuck” between these two surging audiences. The new dual-format streaming tool, launched as part of the “Made on YouTube” initiative, solves this by allowing a single broadcast to be delivered in both 16:9 and 9:16 aspect ratios at once.

The genius of the system lies in its simplicity. Through the YouTube Live Control Room, creators can now toggle on a “Dual Stream” setting. For those using a desktop or a webcam, the platform can automatically generate a vertical feed by intelligently cropping the center of the horizontal frame. This means a creator doesn’t need a second camera or a complicated secondary encoder setup to reach the mobile-first audience. When they hit “Go Live,” the horizontal stream appears on the traditional YouTube desktop site and TV apps, while the vertical version is instantly eligible to be discovered by users swiping through the Shorts feed. It is a “one-and-done” solution for a fragmented digital landscape.

Perhaps the most significant breakthrough, however, is the unified community experience. In the past, trying to stream to two different platforms or formats meant managing two separate, disconnected audiences. A joke made in one chat room wouldn’t be seen by the other; a question asked by a mobile viewer would be invisible to a desktop viewer. YouTube has bridged this gap by creating a shared live chat. Regardless of whether a fan is watching on a 65-inch 4K television or a hand-held device on a crowded subway, they are participating in the same conversation. This unified digital Town Square allows creators to focus on building a singular, robust community rather than splitting their attention between two different screens.

This “shared chat” philosophy is a game-changer for engagement. Creators can now respond to a Super Chat from a mobile user while the gameplay or demonstration is clearly visible to the desktop audience in its full horizontal glory. It eliminates the friction that once defined multi-platform streaming. For the creator, the mental load is halved. Instead of worrying about “looking at the right camera” or “checking the other chat,” they can simply exist in the moment, knowing that the platform is doing the heavy lifting of distribution.

The data behind this move is compelling. Research throughout 2025 showed that channels integrating vertical content with their long-form videos grew up to 41% faster than those that didn’t. This is because the vertical format serves as the ultimate discovery engine. A user who might never have found a creator’s three-hour horizontal stream can now stumble upon the vertical version while scrolling through Shorts. If they like what they see, the barrier to entry is gone—they are already in the live stream, already part of the chat, and already one click away from subscribing. It transforms “Shorts” from a standalone feature into a top-of-funnel entry point for a creator’s entire ecosystem.

Beyond the metrics, there is an emotional component to this update. Vertical video has always felt more personal; it is the format of FaceTime, of selfies, and of intimate “vlog” style storytelling. By bringing this intimacy to live streaming—while maintaining the professional polish of horizontal broadcasts—YouTube is allowing for a hybrid style of content. A creator can now be “at home” on your phone and “on stage” on your TV at the same time. This versatility is particularly powerful for “Just Chatting” segments, IRL (in real life) streams, and Q&A sessions where the focus is the creator’s face, which naturally fits the vertical frame.

As we move further into 2026, the distinction between “mobile creators” and “traditional YouTubers” is evaporating. The platform is becoming a fluid environment where the content adapts to the viewer, rather than forcing the viewer to adapt to the content. YouTube’s commitment to this dual-format future—complemented by AI-powered “Auto-Highlights” that can turn a long stream into a series of bite-sized Shorts—shows a clear path forward for the industry. The message to creators is clear: the technical hurdles of the past are falling away.

The “Live and Grow” mantra isn’t just a marketing slogan; it’s a reflection of a new reality where accessibility is the highest currency. For the aspiring gamer, the educator, or the entertainer, the world has never been more reachable. You no longer have to choose which fans to meet; you can meet them all, exactly where they are. Whether they are holding their phone in the palm of their hand or sitting back on their couch, they are seeing you, they are hearing you, and they are talking to one another in real-time. YouTube is going great, and for the creators who embrace this new era of “limitless geometry,” the potential for growth is, quite literally, expanded in every direction.