YouTube ends its 4K video for only premium subscribers experiment

YouTube on smartphone stock photo 4

Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
  • YouTube was experimenting with locking 4K resolution behind its paywall.
  • Those in the experiment saw the word “premium” next to the 2160p option.
  • The company has confirmed it has ended the test and non-premium viewers should have access to 4K again.

YouTube had been testing out the idea of making 4K resolution an exclusive feature for YouTube Premium subscribers. Now, the company has ended the experiment.

Earlier this month, we reported that some YouTube users on Reddit were discovering that the word “premium” was appearing next to the 4K option on YouTube videos. It turned out that these people were a part of a small experiment group where YouTube was testing out the idea of locking resolutions of 4K and above behind its premium service.

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