Just how good is Bilibili's international version that has got foreigners arguing like crazy?

Just yesterday, Bilibili suddenly announced on X (Twitter):

The international version of Bilibili APP is officially launched.

To mark this launch, it posted several consecutive tweets, which quickly climbed to the top of X's trending list.

I know you might be thinking: Wait, hasn't the international version of Bilibili App been out for ages?

Indeed, Bilibili launched an international version app with a white UI back in 2022. But it was taken down for adjustments last year, and this launch marks its official return.

Interestingly, even though this is essentially a re-released app, this new rollout has come with massive momentum and considerable fanfare.

Under the original post, netizens from all over the world are arguing fiercely over whether this new Bilibili can outcompete YouTube.

Those who are fed up with YouTube welcome Bilibili's arrival with open arms; some who think TikTok is extremely powerful reckon Bilibili must also be a formidable player.

But some others think it's simply not competitive, and the two platforms are not even in the same league.

Bilibili itself is full of confidence, seemingly targeting YouTube directly, and has been reposting all the positive posts shared by its supporters.

So what new features have been launched this time? Is it capable of challenging YouTube?

First of all, this update brings two core new features.

The first one is the cancellation of the identity authentication process.

You can log in directly with your Google account, no additional identity verification is required.

This feature alone is enough to impress overseas users.

Because previously, users from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan regions and overseas all needed to go through an extra identity authentication step to register Bilibili, and even had to submit their passports back in 2022.

This requirement once discouraged a large number of potential users. Even now, there are still overseas users posting on social platforms asking for help about how to register for the platform.

But now, you can complete the registration seamlessly with a Google account. After successful registration, you can smoothly watch almost all content on Bilibili without extra hurdles.

The second epic update is the launch of AI original voice translation.

It can imitate the voice of the uploader to realize real-time voice translation. Even under ideal conditions, it can adjust the lip sync of the speaker to match the translated audio.

The prototype of this feature was actually launched last year, and now the international version has synchronized this function.

I have also attached a screen recording here, so you can get a sense of how well this feature performs.

It is a pity that currently this feature only supports part of the videos, and the available translation languages are only English and Japanese. In comparison, YouTube's AI real-time translation already supports more than a dozen languages, so we are still lagging behind a bit in this regard.

Then, besides these two major updates, what is the user experience of other features on this international version App for ordinary users?

As we all know, these international version apps often come with some exclusive benefits that are not available in the domestic version. The removal of the first generation of the international version a while ago made many users feel upset for a long time.

My experience tells me that this new version is even more streamlined than the first generation of the international version.

There are only 2 top section entries in total, [Recommended] and [Trending].

The left side is the original domestic version, the right side is the international version

Even the [Live] entry that was retained in the first generation of the international version has been removed.

I found that not only the entry was deleted, but the entire live streaming function was cut off. You cannot watch or start a live stream on this international version of Bilibili.

The top sections of the first generation international version of Bilibili

I browsed around and found that most of the fancy redundant functions have been removed.

After trimming the top bar, the bottom tab bar was also simplified.

The "Member Purchase" entry has been removed.

Functions like [Recent], [Watch Video], [Listen to Video] in the avatar menu on the upper left corner have all been removed.

Sub-entries such as the leaderboard and "Weekly Must-Watch" in the Trending section have also been deleted.

The left side is the original domestic version, the right side is the international version

Even when you tap into the search bar, the interface is surprisingly clean.

All hot search lists and search recommendations are completely cleared, leaving only the search history section.

At the same time, there is a very important point that I found after a quick experience ——

So far, there are almost no ads of any kind on this international version App.

These ads include: splash screen ads, top banner ads, in-video pre-roll ads, in-feed ads, sponsored content, and more.

I specifically tested the traffic card section which is known for heavy ad placements.

On the left side of the original domestic version, the first thing displayed is sponsored content, and there are ads or promotions on almost every screen when you scroll down.

But the international version performs very well, it prioritizes high-quality content, such as our traffic card related videos.

When you enter the video playback page, the top pre-roll ads originally inserted by uploaders have also disappeared.

For users who want to watch videos in an immersive way, this international version offers extremely smooth experience.

The only thing that makes me feel a bit inconvenient is that the content category section has also been removed.

Bilibili is originally an interest-based community, and the category section allows users with specific interests to quickly locate the content they like. But now, if you want to watch anime, you have to know exactly what you want to watch and search for the title directly. You can no longer browse content in the category section, or check the new anime schedule.

After talking about the user side, let's take a look at the creator side.

Not many features have been launched for creators, on the contrary, many core functions have been cut off.

For example, I found that there is no way to send "charging" support to creators on this international version. The "charging" entry has been removed, and the content that requires paid "charging" support to watch will not be displayed on the homepage at all.

At the same time, the creator service functions and entries have been almost completely cut down, only two entries are left: manuscript management and creation center.

And revenue channels such as in-video ads are no longer available now.

However, Bilibili officials said they have launched exclusive incentive funds for overseas creators, and announced the first independent animation contest with a total prize pool of 15,000 US dollars.

There may be additional subsidies in the future to attract more overseas creators.

Now that we have covered all the main features, what do you think of this new international version?

Overall, it is more like an extremely clean, streamlined version of Bilibili, which optimizes and supplements some functions that were missing in the first generation of the international version.

As an alternative to the main domestic version, it is very nice for immersive video