Google experimented on YouTube to increase the company’s revenue on the platform recently. After running tests with up to 10 unskippable ads before videos, users on Reddit report that YouTube limited 4K video resolutions on their devices, prompting them to upgrade to YouTube Premium to unlock that option. Here are the details…
You may soon need YouTube Premium to watch 4K video
Youtube launched its Premium subscription service back in 2018. The video streaming website provides users with a variety of features as part of the premium plan. Users who subscribe to premium plan can watch videos and listen to music without being interrupted by advertisements.
In order to entice more users to subscribe to its service, the company is reportedly testing plans to make 4K video playback a premium feature. Non-premium YouTube users can currently consume content at the highest possible 4K resolution with ads in between.
The resolution for video playback for non-premium users is likely to be capped soon. According to Reddit posts, YouTube has been seen testing 4K video playback as a premium feature.There has been no official word on the matter, but if the company decides to pass it as a premium feature, users will have to watch videos on YouTube at 1440p with ads or subscribe to the ad-free plan.
With more and more people buying 4K smart TVs these days, the Alphabet-owned company could be trying to convert these users into Youtube prime subscribers. Aside from no advertisements, the premium plan allows users to download videos, watch videos with the picture-in-picture feature, and access millions of songs on YouTube Music.
{{user}} {{datetime}}
{{text}}