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YouTube has a paid subscription option in the form of YouTube Premium. For those unfamiliar, some of the perks include no ads, being able to watch videos in the background while running other apps, download videos for offline viewing, and so on. It looks like we may soon have to add 4K to that list.
According to multiple user reports posted on Reddit and Twitter, it seems that YouTube has removed the option to watch videos in 4K resolution from the video settings, and that under the 4K option, it mentions “Premium”, indicating that users would need to have a YouTube Premium subscription in order to unlock the feature.
So, after testing up to 12 ads on YouTube for non-Premium users, now some users reported that they also have to get a Premium account just to watch videos in 4K. pic.twitter.com/jJodoAxeDp
— Alvin (@sondesix) October 1, 2022
It appears that at least for now, it is a test as not everyone seeing these restrictions. We’re not sure if YouTube is merely trying to get feedback or if this is something that they actually plan to introduce. If the latter is true, we can imagine that many users will be understandably upset by this.
Given that 4K displays are more or less the standard these days, restricting streaming in 4K would ruin the experience for those who can’t afford or don’t want to pay for YouTube Premium. Alternatively, platforms like Netflix do charge a higher price for its 4K tier compared to other tiers, so maybe YouTube could be using that as a justification.
Either way, we’ll just have to wait and see if this is actually implemented. In the meantime, will 4K be the push you need to subscribe to YouTube Premium?
Source: MacRumors
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