YouTube is getting more detailed video quality options on smartphones and tablets. The new options will cater to a wide range of people, with YouTube now offering an option to lower picture quality to save data.
There's now also an option to set different streaming quality preferences when on mobile data and Wi-Fi.
YouTube Mobile Now Lets You Set the Default Video Playback Quality
YouTube has so far offered the option to playback videos at a specific resolution or set it to Auto, which changes the video quality depending on your internet connection speed.
Now though, YouTube on mobile offers four different streaming quality options. There's Data Saver that will "lower picture quality" to save on data. Then, there's Higher picture quality that "uses more data" and bumps the video resolution to 720p or higher.
The Auto option is still there, which adjusts the video quality depending on your internet connection speed. The fourth option is Advanced which lets you "select a specific resolution." Whatever streaming option you select from the player, it will only apply to that video.
The good thing is that you can now set video quality preferences individually for Wi-Fi and mobile data. For this, you need to navigate to the YouTube app settings followed by Video quality preferences. Here, you will find the option to set the video quality to Auto, Higher picture quality, or Data saver.
Whatever streaming option you select, it will automatically apply to all future videos that you watch in the YouTube app.
The updated streaming quality options cater to a wide range of people in different parts of the world. If you live in an area with limited and slow mobile data connectivity, you can set YouTube to Data saver mode to preserve your monthly quota of mobile data.
Alternatively, if you don't need to worry about your mobile data quota and have access to fast Wi-Fi and mobile data, you can set YouTube to always playback videos in 720p or higher resolution.
The updated streaming options in YouTube are now rolling out on Android as well as on iOS.
Option to Automatically Playback Videos at Specific Resolution Still Missing
Despite the addition of granular video quality settings, YouTube on mobile still does not let you default to playing back videos at a specific resolution. This means even if you have access to a speedy internet connection without a data cap, you cannot force YouTube to automatically playback all your videos in 4K resolution.