YouTube ends experiment where watching in 4k is a paid option

YouTube has stopped an experiment where watching videos in 4k playback requires a Premium subscription. The 4k display for videos will therefore remain free for the time being. The video platform does not give a reason for stopping the test.

On Monday, YouTube announced that it had pulled the plug on the experiment. “We completely stopped this experiment. Viewers should now have access to the 4k resolution without a Premium subscription,” writes the platform. YouTube has not said whether it will definitely get rid of the idea of linking 4k videos to a Premium subscription. The platform asks users through its Japanese Twitter page to provide feedback on the experiment.

In September, several YouTube users shared screenshots of the paid option. In the screenshots in question, the option to switch to 4k has the text ‘Premium – tap to upgrade’. This involves the YouTube Premium subscription, which costs 12 euros per month in the Benelux and, among other things, removes the ads from videos. earlier this month, YouTube confirmed that it was conducting an experiment in which the platform tried to find out the preferences of subscribers and non-subscribers.