YouTube adds SharePlay support for Premium members

YouTube has rolled out new features for Premium members, including a few geared toward iPhone and iPad owners.

On Monday, YouTube announced a handful of new features for those who subscribe to YouTube Premium, the company's ad-free subscription service.

Perhaps the most significant announcement is the addition of SharePlay, which the company says it will be appearing on iOS devices "in the coming weeks."

The addition of SharePlay will allow users to watch and interact with YouTube videos simultaneously across FaceTime and iMessage.

Video quality is also getting a boost in the coming weeks, as YouTube plans to launch an enhanced bitrate version of 1080p HD. The company says that while all users can access 1080p, the enhanced version will allow videos to look even better.

In addition to the two updates geared toward iOS users, YouTube added multi-device support for iOS, Android, and the web. So now, Premium members can continue watching YouTube videos where they left off, even if switching between devices.

A new Smart Downloads feature will add recommended videos to a user's library, enabling them to watch the videos offline if desired.

Smartphone and tablet users will also get expanded queueing features, enabling users to create YouTube queues directly from their mobile devices.

In November, YouTube hiked its prices for the YouTube Premium family plan, jumping the price from $17.99 to $22.99. However, those who subscribed via the App Store saw the price jump to $29.99.

5 Comments

doozydozen 11 Years · 539 comments

About 1 year ago

@AppleInsider how much for an individual sub? You only listed family pricing

pichael 13 Years · 49 comments

doozydozen said:

@AppleInsider how much for an individual sub? You only listed family pricing

Let me google that for you,

“$11.99 per month, after a one-month free trial or an annual plan is available for $119.99. That's two months of savings for paying upfront.”

My source for the information, www.google.com

You’re Welcome.

P.S. I also looked at the iOS in app pricing. Just in case. That will cost $15.99 per month individually. No annual option from what I can see.

@pichael
Thank you for the information. I didn’t intend you to do my work. I imagine that nearly 100% of tech readership under 65 years of age are handy with simply internet search, and that it would have been easier for me to use google or whatever search engine to get my answer. I should have been more direct to my point, but the author ought to included individual pricing when broaching the topic of pricing. That’s all

payeco 17 Years · 581 comments

I used a VPN to switch my location to Argentina and then signed up for YouTube Premium. Now I pay $2/month.

doozydozen said:

@pichael
Thank you for the information. I didn’t intend you to do my work. I imagine that nearly 100% of tech readership under 65 years of age are handy with simply internet search, and that it would have been easier for me to use google or whatever search engine to get my answer. I should have been more direct to my point, but the author ought to included individual pricing when broaching the topic of pricing. That’s all

It’s all good. I do forget that my dry British Humour doesn’t always travel well.

The snark level was particularly high too. Apologies for that. It was written in partial tongue in cheek and partial suppressed pain form many questions like this over the years.

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