A YouTube Premium subscription allows you to access Google's video platform without ads. But it also offers some additional and significant quality of life options, such as access to YouTube Music, playback continuity from one device to another, or even high-bitrate 1080p video quality.
In a press release, the platform details a set of new features that began to be deployed as of January 22, 2025.
Some features are noted as experimental and will only be available for a limited time. You also need to go to a dedicated page (youtube.com/new) to register and activate them, which is very quick if you are already connected.
This concerns four features:
- Quickly go to the Web;
- High-quality audio;
- Picture-in-picture for Shorts on iOS;
- Smart downloads for Shorts on iOS.
The two flagship features
While the last two are fairly transparent, the first two deserve some explanation.
Fast-forward therefore only works on the web interface. Its operation is quite simple: if you advance in your video using the keyboard, a button should appear offering you to “Fast-forward” to the “eligible segment”. We have not been able to make it work at the moment, no doubt it requires an activation time. Fast-forward will be available until February 5, 2025 in beta.
“High-quality audio” for its part, only works on iOS and Android. By high quality, YouTube means increasing the sound from a maximum bit rate of 128 Kb/s to 256 Kb/s. YouTube is therefore aligning itself with the maximum quality offered by YouTube Music, the music streaming service of the Mountain View giant. On the other hand, you will have to find eligible content again. The trial lasts until February 22.
YouTube Premium for less for Google One subscribers
Other features have also been rolled out for American users, such as X4 playback or the ability to watch only the "best moments" of a video.
YouTube is also launching, still in the United States only, an offer that allows you to get YouTube Premium for less if you are a Google One subscriber, starting at 2 TB. Enough to take advantage of the storage of Google Drive and Google Photos, while avoiding ads on the video platform. Hopefully the offer will also be launched in France and the rest of the world in the long term.
Source: YouTube
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