Oriented on making people closer

Google has announced a major expansion of YouTube Premium features. The key capabilities of the subscription — previously limited to specific apps — are now available on iOS, Android, and desktop (web) versions of the platform. This marks an important step by Google toward creating a unified and high-quality user experience.

The update includes several key enhancements:

• Extended playback speed: Playback speed control from 0.5x to 4x, which was previously available only in the mobile app, now works on Android, iOS, and the web version.

• Distraction-free viewing: On iOS and Android, users can now automatically download short videos for offline viewing and play them in Picture-in-Picture (PIP) mode. Previously, PIP was exclusive to Android.

• Quick search: The Jump Ahead feature, which allows skipping to key moments in a video, is now available on Smart TVs and gaming consoles.

Significant audio improvements have also been introduced:

• High bitrate: When watching music videos, users can now choose the “High” audio quality option with a bitrate of 256 kbps.

• Integration: This feature, previously exclusive to YouTube Music, is now integrated into the main YouTube and YouTube Music apps on Android and iOS.

• Art Tracks: The new feature also applies to “Art Tracks” (automatically generated videos with album art), helping creators share their music without producing full video clips.

According to Engadget, these changes bring Google closer to its goal of delivering a unified interface and user experience across all devices, while maintaining YouTube Premium’s main advantages — ad-free viewing and access to YouTube Music.

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Photo: AI