YouTube Premium, the $11.99 per thirty days ad-free model of YouTube, is at this time introducing a lot of new options geared toward attracting and retaining subscribers. Most notably, the subscription plan will now embody higher-quality video for net and iOS customers, help for co-watching movies on FaceTime by way of Apple’s SharePlay, and different controls for managing your queue on cell gadgets.

The corporate believes the broader characteristic set will assist it to higher market the subscription to customers, as many don’t know what else YouTube Premium supplies past eradicating advertisements from YouTube. The launches additionally observe different latest additions, like the power to proceed watching movies the place you left off on any machine and a “good downloads” characteristic that routinely saves advisable movies for offline entry. This latter characteristic is now out there to net customers as properly, along with iOS and Android.

Picture Credit: YouTube’s “proceed watching” characteristic

Whereas many of those earlier options had extra subtly enhanced the YouTube Premium subscription — operating within the background the place they’re maybe unnoticed by the top consumer — at this time’s newly introduced additions will likely be extra front-and-center to the viewing expertise.

For starters, YouTube will start rolling out an enhanced bitrate model of 1080p HD video high quality to Premium subscribers on iOS after which the net within the weeks forward. (On the internet, it should first develop into out there as an “experiment” — YouTube Premium’s providing that permits subscribers early entry to check new options forward of a public launch.) Whereas all YouTube customers will proceed to have entry to 1080p, the improved 1080p high quality setting will make movies look “additional crisp and clear,” YouTube says, together with people who have numerous element and movement, like sports activities and gaming. If efficiently applied, this might assist YouTube Premium to higher reside as much as its identify when it comes to offering a “premium” expertise to subscribers, not only a much less annoying one by eradicating advertisements.

One other key addition is help for Apple’s SharePlay, first launched at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Convention in 2021. Although different video companies have lengthy supported SharePlay, together with rivals like Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, and TikTok, YouTube will restrict entry so solely paying subscribers can use the co-viewing characteristic. That positions the service in a special area from rival TikTok which was among the many first to help Apple’s co-watching characteristic for FaceTime customers.

In fact, SharePlay to some extent now feels extra like a pandemic-era resolution designed to attach individuals who can’t be collectively in actual life. Netflix, for example, by no means even bothered to launch its personal official co-viewing possibility, after apparently betting on declining utilization for such a factor as Covid restrictions lifted. So it’s attention-grabbing to see YouTube attempt to market SharePlay as a “perk” moderately than commonplace performance, significantly when its in-house co-viewing resolution inside Google Meet already permits YouTube co-viewing with out the Premium improve.

One other new characteristic supplies extra controls over your queue when subscribed to YouTube Premium. Beginning at this time, Premium customers will likely be ready so as to add movies to their queue when watching on telephones and tablets. Whereas at this time YouTube free customers can save movies to playlists, together with “Watch Later,” queuing lets customers management what video they wish to play subsequent throughout their present viewing session.

The updates be a part of different YouTube Premium options which, past ad-free viewing, embody background play for watching when the display screen is locked, offline downloads, and entry to YouTube Music Premium.