YouTube Premium introduces five exclusive new features

NEW YORK: If you’ve ever wondered whether a YouTube Premium subscription is worth the monthly fee, the platform has just sweetened the deal with five new features now rolling out to more users worldwide.

According to an update on the official YouTube Help forum (via 9to5Google), these upgrades were previously limited to experiments or specific devices but are now expanding across Android, iOS, web, smart TVs, and consoles.

Faster playback: 4x speed option

Premium users can now crank up playback speed to 4x, double the maximum 2x speed available to regular users. This feature is live on Android, iOS, and the web.

Higher-quality audio

Music lovers will appreciate the jump to 256kbps audio quality on videos officially tagged as music tracks. While this level of quality has long been available on YouTube Music, it’s now extending to YouTube for Android and iOS.

Jump ahead on more devices

The handy Jump Ahead feature, which lets you skip directly to the most-watched sections of a video, is expanding beyond mobile and desktop. It’s now arriving on smart TVs and gaming consoles too.

Smart downloads for shorts

Offline viewing gets an upgrade with Smart Downloads for Shorts. The app automatically downloads recommended short clips so you always have something to watch—even without internet. This is now rolling out to all iPhone users after testing on iOS and availability on Android.

Picture-in-picture for shorts

Finally, iOS users get Picture-in-Picture mode for Shorts, a feature that Android users already enjoyed. You can now keep Shorts running in a small window while multitasking on your device.