YouTube has already begun testing 4K video playback as a potential premium feature.

A new report claims that YouTube will begin charging for 4K video playback in the near future.

YouTube, which is owned by Google, may start restricting 4K content to paid subscribers only. The change is being reported by numerous YouTubers in posts on Reddit and Twitter. They claim that YouTube now requires a paid YouTube Premium subscription to play videos in 4K. However, not all YouTube users see the 4K resolution choice hidden behind a barrier. Additionally, it's not obvious at this time if YouTube will truly implement this or if it's just testing it.

It's unclear whether the modification is a part of a small test or whether the business is considering limiting free users to 1440p resolution.

The business has experimented with numerous strategies to turn free users into paying customers. However, since the start of this year, YouTube has begun displaying more advertisements before each new video. Redditors point out that the platform used to include up to three 15-second, non-skippable commercials during breaks a year ago. The platform increased it to 20-second advertisements in January, and three consecutive 15-second advertisements were observed in March. Twitter was awash with complaints from free YouTube subscribers who were annoyed with eight to eleven consecutive, variable-length, unskippable adverts that came before or cut off videos. The good news is that these commercials don't seem to last very long. One of the most infamous was presenting viewers with up to 11 non-skippable advertisements before the start of a lengthy video so that they could enjoy an uninterrupted experience.

According to Google, YouTube Music and YouTube Premium now have 50 million subscribers combined. While the cost of these subscriptions varies by country, in the US, YouTube Music costs $9.99 per month and YouTube Premium costs $11.99 per month.

Despite its massive user base, YouTube only has 50 million paying customers, lagging behind competitors like Spotify (188 million premium users) and Netflix (100 million paid subscribers) (220.7 million paid users). Keeping 4K videos exclusive to Premium subscribers may increase the number of paid subscribers on YouTube. That's especially true when you take into account the fact that today, practically every TV larger than 43" has a 4K display.

Google's decision to restrict 4K videos instead of just displaying more adverts is way better for free YouTube subscribers who simply use their smartphones to enjoy the streaming service. Because most smartphone screens top out at Full HD or QHD, users can watch videos at the greatest resolution their device will allow without subscribing to YouTube Premium or sitting through too many commercials.?

Google has not yet provided any details regarding adding 4K videos to the list of YouTube Premium benefits. However, there's still a chance that a feature we all took for granted could ultimately call for a Premium subscription.?

Do you agree with YouTube's stance on this issue? Please share with us in the comments area below.

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