4K YouTube videos won’t require a Premium subscription after all, it seems
One of YouTube’s official Twitter handles confirmed this. ‘TeamYouTube’ said, in a Tweet, that the company has “fully turned off the experiment”. It was also added that “viewers should now be able to access 4K quality resolutions without Premium membership”. Earlier, YouTube said that some of its users were a part of the test, which is meant to explore “the feature preferences of Premium & non-Premium viewers”. Those tweets are now deleted, though. Needless to say, when the initial information surfaced, people were quite upset. Many of them watch YouTube content in 4K without a Premium subscription, and with all the ad changes, this was certainly not welcomed. Now, the fact that YouTube ended this test, doesn’t mean the change won’t happen at some point. There’s still a possibility that 4K streaming will move behind a paywall. Keeping it free for all users certainly isn’t free, and on some level, the change wouldn’t be entirely surprising. It would create shockwaves, though, that’s for sure.
YouTube is making changes to ads as well
YouTube is making changes to ads on the free tier as well, and many would say the company is crossing the line. The YouTube Premium subscription isn’t exactly free, as it costs $11.99 a month. You do get unlimited access to YouTube Music with it, though. If you do opt for a family plan, and get your family members or friends on board, you can get everything a lot cheaper. The point is, you have to pay in order to avoid ads, get all the features, and unlimited access to YouTube Music. It remains to be seen if YouTube plans to do anything after this test, but let’s hope 4K streaming will remain free.
