YouTube launched several new experimental features for its YouTube Premium users on Wednesday. The platform says the features are designed to enhance content consumption and support higher quality audio when watching music videos, and the ability to switch faster video playback. Meanwhile, iOS’s YouTube shorts now provide support for pictures and smart downloads in pictures. The company has also launched a new plan for subscribers in the U.S., which makes subscriptions to YouTube Premium more affordable, albeit with some restrictions.
YouTube Premium users now get higher quality audio when watching music videos
In the blog post, YouTube details new features that are being introduced to advanced users. It says they can now access audio enhancements when streaming videos, including 256kbps audio playback. The “jump forward” feature, which was previously limited to mobile devices, is also being introduced for web browsers. It allows them to skip the best part of the video they watch.
Users on iOS can also take advantage of the image mode on YouTube shorts for better multitasking. At the same time, the smart download function will automatically select the recommended shorts and download them for offline viewing. The playback option will also be expanded to 4x speeds.
It is worth noting that all of the above features are experimental and users need to choose to enter before they can experience them.
The video streaming service also extends certain features to more platforms and regions. YouTube Music Ask for music Android users in the UK and Ireland will soon provide features. It allows them to describe the music they wish to listen to, such as “Optimistic Workout Tracks” or “Relax Jazz”, a feature that will generate personalized radio stations with related music based on YouTube.
At the same time, conversational AI tools will also be available on iOS, which are essentially chatbots for discussing the current playback of videos and suggested content. Currently, it is limited to premium YouTube members in U.S. English.
YouTube said it is launching new offers in the U.S., and that signup can save more when signing up for Google One Premium or higher subscription. With this offer, they will be able to access ad-free YouTube, 2 TB of cloud storage on Google One, while other Googles will access a member at a lower price.
