If you’re finding YouTube’s clarity level a little lacking in standard 1080p resolution, there’s now a 1080p Premium tier to solve your new-found problem for free.
Even as it prices Premium subscriptions for users in certain regions of the world, YouTube is introducing with minimal media “noise” an enhanced bitrate selection for users of the free version of YouTube. Under the new organisation we have 1080p HD video quality and Premium, with only the latter offering the full potential of resolution in the context of current playback and internet access technologies.
Started as an “experiment”, the Premium quality option will eventually be added as a privilege reserved for YouTube Premium subscribers, further differentiating it from users watching YouTube content at exactly the same resolution, plus ads.
According to the official description, the new option will make 1080p quality “even sharper than before”, reinforcing the Premium experience as more than just hiding the ads shown to non-subscribers.
Another change is to Apple’s SharePlay support, with YouTube limiting access to this feature to Premium subscribers only. Interestingly, the restriction is not enforced by rivals Disney+ , Hulu , HBO Max, with TikTok even promoting the option as a boon to users of the platform.
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