YouTube Premium, a paid service from YouTube that removes all ads from the platform and also lets you download videos from the service for offline watching, seems to be experimenting with letting users download videos at 1080p, with some users reporting the option appearing recently.
Previously, YouTube Premium subscribers have only had the ability to download videos at 720p, no matter the quality of the actual source video.
YouTube hasn’t yet announced this change, but the fact that it’s only rolled out to certain users makes it look like they are A/B testing the feature ahead of a full rollout, to see how people use the feature, and what sort of pressure it puts on the service. If all goes well, there’s a chance it’ll roll out for everyone in the not-to-distant future, providing they want to pick up a YouTube Premium subscription.
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The test seems to be rolling out for users on both iOS and Android, so if you’ve got YouTube Premium, why not load up the app and see if you can download it in sweet 1080p resolution.
It’s a valuable change, especially as screens get better and better, squeezing higher resolutions out of the screens you’re carrying around in your pocket. It’s unclear if they’ll ever allow a greater ability to download than this, as something like downloading videos in 4K would lead to huge file sizes and a lot of bandwith usage.
While anything above 1080p is going to be lost on screens the size of your hand, getting videos in full HD will help with things like screen mirroring to a smart TV or just to ensure you’re watching the trailer for Reign of Fire — from the director of The X-Files Movie — in the best possibly quality. I mean, otherwise what’s the point?
Source: GSM Arena
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
