YouTube might be making 4K videos exclusive to Premium subscribers

Both YouTube and its parent company Google have not made any statements on the findings, but had previously tested having up to 10 unskippable bumper ads before videos. — AFP Relaxnews

Some users on Reddit have spotted clues that YouTube might be planning to lock the option for 4K video quality behind a paywall.

According to screenshots shared by users in the post, the option for 2160p (4K) has been marked with a “Premium” label, which users can tap to prompt an upgrade to YouTube Premium.

While not everyone watches YouTube videos in 4K, it was definitely a nice option to have without requiring an additional subscription, especially since more smartphone manufacturers are including high resolution displays with their newer devices.

Both YouTube and its parent company Google have not made any official announcements on these findings as of yet. However this is likely a case of the company testing upcoming platform changes among select users, similar to how they tested having up to 10 unskippable bumper ads before the start of videos among certain viewers last month.

This could also be part of the company’s efforts to push for YouTube Premium subscriptions, which is available to Malaysians for RM17.90 a month after a one month trial period.