I consistently hear people on YouTube complain that the subscribe button doesn’t do anything for viewers, now that channel notifications are controlled by the bell. But it does do something: it puts the videos from that channel in your subscription feed, which is readily accessible on all versions of YouTube. So why do people act like it doesn’t exist? I think it’s super convenient, especially if you’re subscribed to a ton of channels and don’t want your notifications feed flooded with new videos.
I use the subscription feed and use the notification bell for my favorite channels. I don’t have notifications turned on for YouTube, but it does show in the top right corner of YouTube itself.
I don’t always feel like watching everything I’m subscribed to, so this gives me a kind of “favorites of favorites” feed.