High-quality audio, faster playback: What's new for YouTube Premium subscribers
What's the story
YouTube has announced a host of new features for its Premium subscribers. The updates were first teased at the beginning of this year. Now, the video platform is rolling them out officially. The most notable addition is the ability to increase playback speeds up to 4x in increments of 0.05x on Android, iOS, and web platforms. Previously, users had to visit youtube.com/new to access these features, but now they are directly available in the app/website itself.
Enhanced experience
High-quality audio streaming on main app
YouTube Premium subscribers can now enjoy high-quality audio at 256kbps on the main app for Android and iOS. This feature is available for official/premium music videos and Art Tracks, just like it is on YouTube Music. For smart TVs and gaming consoles, a new feature called Jump Ahead has been introduced. It lets users jump to the most interesting parts of a video or other key moments they might have missed.
Shorts update
Picture-in-Picture and smart downloads for iOS users
The latest updates also bring Picture-in-Picture and Smart Downloads to YouTube for iOS users. The Picture-in-Picture mode lets you keep your Shorts playing in a small window while browsing other content on your device. Meanwhile, the Smart Downloads facility automatically downloads your favorite Shorts based on your previous watch history.