Free users are missing out on several fun perks that you get with a premium subscription. They have to sit through ads, they can’t try out new and experimental features, they can’t download videos, etc. These are the things that keep people paying $11.99 every month. Despite that, they could always watch videos at the highest resolution available.
But, 4K videos might only be for premium users soon
Before you grab your torch and pitchfork, there’s a possibility that this won’t happen. Right now, according to a tweet from Nils Ahrensmeier, the company is testing this out. So, free users might be off the hook, but we’ll need to wait on more information to be sure. The tweet shows the list of resolutions that you can watch a video in. The top option, 2160p, has the text “Premium – Tap to upgrade” right next to it. This means that if you want to watch YouTube videos in crisp 4K resolution, you may need to have a premium membership eventually. This will definitely upset a lot of free users. Just recently, YouTube came under fire for the excessive amount of ads that free users need to watch. This is on top of other things like not still not being able to listen to music with your screen off with YouTube Music. At the moment, it doesn’t seem that YouTube has commented on this just yet. If the company did comment on it, you could expect a load of PR speak anyway- let’s be honest. For the time being, you’re able to watch 4K videos without a YouTube premium subscription. If the company does pull the trigger on this, then you’d better enjoy it while you can.
