A couple of years ago, YouTube introduced a new 1080p enhanced option that enabled Premium users to watch 1080p content with a higher bitrate than the regular 1080p quality. Essentially, this noticeably improves the viewing experience on videos that aren’t uploaded in 1440p or 2160p resolutions.
To clear any confusion, even back then YouTube mentioned that the regular 1080p video quality option would still remain for non-Premium users. But since then, speculation about YouTube making the 1080p quality option a Premium-only feature has heated up. So let me break down why this is happening and whether the concerns are justified.
I recently noticed a couple of posts on the YouTube subreddit from users who claim they don’t see the regular 1080p option, and instead, just have lower quality options along with the 1080p Premium option. Naturally, the OPs on these posts were concerned that YouTube is doing them dirty by making them pay for a better video quality experience. Here are the screenshots of those couple of recent posts:
Judging by these reports, it might seem like YouTube is actually removing 1080p for free users, but if you look deeper, that doesn’t seem to be the case. For starters, I did some digging to see if this is indeed a widespread problem. Turns out, it’s only just a couple of people who experienced the issue recently. Moreover, it seems this same issue (bug?) has been spotted by some several months ago. Here’s one from 9 months ago:
The OP never followed up on the issue, indicating that it was most likely fixed. Similarly, the user who posted about the issue 15 days ago never followed up either. Furthermore, in most cases, the posters haven’t shared links to the videos for others to test. The randomness of this makes it seem like it’s a bug. Adding to that is the fact that a majority of users don’t run into the problem at all. Out of millions of users, I still see only a handful of reports, popping up weeks or months apart.
So it you’re wondering whether YouTube is removing the 1080p video quality option for non-Premium users, the answer is no, at least not anytime soon. In case I do find more evidence suggesting that this is something YouTube is intentionally experimenting with, I’ll update the article. In the meantime, feel free to let me know if you still have the option to view videos in 1080p (or higher resolutions) on your device.
Dwayne Cubbins
872 Posts
For nearly a decade, I've been deciphering the complexities of the tech world, with a particular passion for helping users navigate the ever-changing tech landscape. From crafting in-depth guides that unlock your phone's hidden potential to uncovering and explaining the latest bugs and glitches, I make sure you get the most out of your devices. And yes, you might occasionally find me ranting about some truly frustrating tech mishaps.
Follow Us
