For years, YouTube Premium has focused on removing ads, background playback (picture-in-picture), and offline downloads. YouTube is now expanding the perks offered with a premium subscription.
Today, live sharing via Google Meet allows Android users to watch YouTube videos together. A similar capability will be available for FaceTime on iOS with YouTube Premium adding support for SharePlay in the coming weeks. Apple announced this capability With iOS 15.1+and it is already found in the file a bunch of apps.
Meanwhile, YouTube on iOS will be the first to get a bitrate-enhanced version in 1080p HD. Google says this makes videos “clearer and clearer”. This is especially useful for videos with “a lot of detail and movement”. 1080p Premium is rolling out over the “coming weeks” and will then appear on the web as a trial. Google is looking to bring it to Android in the future.
Whether you are an avid sports fan or binge on the latest gaming videos, this new feature will bring a deeper visual quality to our members!
There will be no changes to the current 1080p quality for all other (free) users.
Starting today, YouTube Premium users on phones and tablets will benefit from the ability to queue videos. This entered testing late last year and joins existing web capability.
YouTube is adding “Continue Watching” prompts to more form factors. If you started a video on your phone and it didn’t finish, the next time you open youtube.com, there will be a prompt in the lower right corner to continue. This is now available on Android, iOS, and the web for Premium subscribers.
Finally, YouTube creates official Smart Downloads that automatically cache recommended videos for offline viewing.
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