JAKARTA - Earlier this month, YouTube ran an experiment asking users to subscribe to the Premium, so they can watch videos in 4K resolutions. But now, the platform has stopped testing it.
Through a tweet reply to Twitter users, YouTube confirmed the end of the experiment, saying now users can watch with 4K resolution without having to subscribe to Premium.
More specifically, all users can now watch the highest resolution videos without paying for subscriptions.
we've fully turned off this experiment. viewers should now be able to access 4K quality resolutions without Premium membership. we're here if you have other q's
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) October 17, 2022
YouTube's goal of running the experiment is to measure user reactions when a free accessible feature is placed for Premium users.
Quoted from Engadget, Wednesday, October 19, however, it's not clear why YouTube decided to cancel it, but as 9to5Google said, the experiment got negative feedback from its users.
The reason is, not a few users object to paying USD 12 equivalent to IDR 185 thousand per month or USD 120 equivalent to IDR 1.8 million per year just to be able to play videos at the highest resolution or eliminate ads, both on apps and websites.
Those who weren't part of the experiment were concerned the feature would be widely released and would be a permanent advantage for Premium customers.
TechCrunch says YouTube is trying many ways to turn free users into paid users. Earlier this year, it ran an experiment of 11 ads that users couldn't pass before the start of a long video to get them experience without interruption. This trial is short-lived and YouTube has ended it in a few days.
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