YouTube unveils new premium features, mulls more paid plans

New Delhi: YouTube is mulling new paid plans alongside introducing new features for its premium subscribers. 

The social media site announced in a community post its commitment to expanding plan options and introducing new plans, with future benefits for sharing with friends. Currently, YouTube offers three monthly premium plans: Individual for $13.99, Family for $22.99, and Student for $7.99.

The new premium features YouTube has introduced on its blog are available currently for Android users in the US. 

The features range from skipping ahead to key moments to smart downloads for offline viewing.

1) Jump ahead to moments on YouTube

Users can skip ahead to the best parts of a video. When users double-tap to skip ahead, they will see a ‘jump ahead’ button that'll take them right where they want to go.

This feature, powered by a combination of AI and viewership data, is now available to all US Premium subscribers on Android. It can be accessed by iOS users in the next few weeks. 

2) PIP feature on YouTube Shorts

Users can multitask while watching Shorts with the new picture-in-picture feature for YouTube Shorts. 

On Android devices, users can watch their favorite Shorts while browsing other apps or checking messages. 

3) Early access to the latest experimental features

As a Premium subscriber, users can get a first look into some of the features being tested on YouTube 

Currently, premium users can access features like: 

• Smart downloads for YouTube Shorts: With smart downloads, users automatically get a fresh batch of entertaining Shorts downloaded to your phone, ready to watch whenever they are offline. 
• Conversational AI: YouTube’s conversational AI experience is back on Android devices in the US. This assistive tool can answer questions, suggest related content, and more, all without interrupting the playback experience. Users can access the tool by tapping “Ask” beneath select videos and begin by asking questions about the video or selecting a suggested prompt.
• Redesigned Watch Page: Users can now experiment with a redesigned watch page being built on the web to improve viewing experience.

Other recently launched features

With YouTube Premium, other features the company launched recently are accessible too, such as the ability to pick up where users left off on any video and exploring videos through an enhanced 1080p HD video quality for an even sharper viewing experience. 

Dave Wu, Product Manager, YouTube Premium, said, “With YouTube Music Premium, you're getting way more than just ad-free tunes – think offline listening, background play, and the Samples tab to help you discover fresh music.

Through seamless integrations, you can take your entire music library everywhere, from your phone to your computer, and now even on your wrist with a new partnership bringing the YouTube Music app to Garmin watches.”