YouTube, a popular video streaming platform is set to expand its Premium service by offering new subscription plans which come with enhanced features. This development has been announced in a community post which was made by the company on Thursday by a YouTube team member, who was identified as Hazel- reflecting the ongoing commitment to deliver more flexible and user-friendly options to its subscribers.
YouTube Premium's subscription plans
At present (by the time of writing), YouTube Premium will offer 3 primary plans:
- Individual Plan: USD 13.99 per month, or USD 139.99 annually.
- Family Plan: USD 22.99 per month, allowing up to 6 accounts.
- Student Plan: USD 7.99 per month, available to verified students.
These plans will enable the users to enjoy several benefits, which will further include an ad-free viewing experience- along with the ability to download videos for offline viewing and ad-free access to the YouTube Music library.
The recent announcement states, YouTube has hinted to introduce new plans via specific details which are yet to be revealed.
Hazel mentioned, “We’re committed to bringing members more plan options by expanding our existing offers to more regions, while also introducing new plans and exploring ways for you to share your benefits with friends in the future.”
As per The Verge report, it was suggested that we might see more regional options and potentially new ways to share subscription benefits.
YouTube Premium subscribers: New features
Along with the new subscription plans, the video streaming platform is reportedly rolling out several new features for enhanced user experience for Premium subscribers:
AI-Powered ‘Jump Ahead’
An AI-driven ‘jump ahead’ feature, enables the users to skip to the most relevant parts of a video quickly. This feature is currently available on Android, which will soon be accessible to iOS users in the upcoming weeks.
Picture-in-Picture Mode for YouTube Shorts
Premium subscribers (Android) will soon be able to watch YouTube Shorts in picture-in-picture mode. This feature is said to be popular on TikTok- a popular streaming platform, and it is enabling a more seamless and multitasking-friendly viewing experience.
Experimental Features for YouTube Premium Users
YouTube is also offering access to several experimental features for Premium subscribers. Users could reportedly opt-in to try out these new tools, by providing feedback which could shape their future development:
- Offline Shorts: A feature which will automatically download batches of YouTube Shorts on your handset, making them available for offline viewing.
- Conversational AI assistant: YouTube is reintroducing a conversational AI assistant which will be following a previous test. This assistant will further aim at enhancing user interaction and providing a more intuitive viewing experience.
- Redesigned desktop watch page: A revamped watch page has been designed on the desktop and it is being tested, aiming at improving navigation and user experience.
What to look ahead?
YouTube’s plan to expand its Premium subscription options and introduce of new features will highlight the platform's commitment to evolving in line with user needs and preferences.
Though the details have been under the hood, the anticipation surrounding these announcements has suggested that users could look forward to more tailored and enriching experiences on YouTube Premium.
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