YouTube Premium users get new features: Improved audio, tools for Shorts

With YouTube Premium, users can now access high-quality audio on music videos, faster playback speed on app, Jump ahead on TV app and more

YouTube Premium is expanding its features to more devices and platforms. According to YouTube’s latest community page, the update includes high-quality audio for music videos, faster playback controls, and a “jump ahead” option that lets viewers skip to key parts of a video. YouTube is also extending Premium benefits to Shorts, adding smart downloads and picture-in-picture support, so users can keep watching while browsing or offline.

YouTube Premium: What’s new

• High-quality audio: Initially, this was available only on the YouTube Music app and as an experiment on the main YouTube app. Now it is rolled out on both Android and iOS devices. The feature is said to have improved sound quality but applies only to official music videos and Art Tracks.

• Faster playback speeds: Until now, users could change playback up to 4x speed with small increments of 0.05 only on the web. This option is now available across Android, iOS, and the web.

• Jump ahead: It is a tool that lets viewers skip directly to the most relevant or interesting parts of a video. This was already supported on Android, iOS, and the web, but now it is also available on Smart TVs and gaming consoles through the main YouTube app.

YouTube Shorts: New features

YouTube is also extending features to Premium users for Shorts. These are:

• Shorts Smart Downloads: Users will automatically get new Shorts saved to their device based on their watch history. This feature was previously limited to Android but it is now available on iOS as well.

• Picture-in-picture (PiP): Users can now keep Shorts running in a small window while browsing other content. Like Smart Downloads, this was first on Android and tested on iOS, but it is now fully supported on iOS devices. In short, YouTube said that Premium users will notice more consistency across platforms. The update is said to make Premium work better across phones, web, smart TVs, and consoles, while also giving Shorts more flexibility.