YouTube Premium users are in for a treat with a wave of exciting new features and improvements rolling out across platforms in 2025. These upgrades bring better sound quality, faster playback, more control over viewing, and enhanced support for YouTube Shorts, making the Premium experience even richer and more flexible.
Enhanced Audio Quality
One of the standout upgrades is high-quality audio for music videos and official art tracks available directly in the YouTube app on both Android and iOS devices. Previously limited to YouTube Music, this boost to 256 kbps means Premium members will now enjoy a much clearer and richer sound experience while watching music videos, perfect for audiophiles and casual listeners alike.
Faster Playback Speeds
YouTube Premium now lets users speed up videos up to 4x the normal speed with fine-tuned increments as small as 0.05x on mobile apps (Android and iOS), the web, smart TVs, and gaming consoles. This is double the previous maximum speed available to non-Premium users and adds flexibility for catching up on content quickly or binge-watching favorites.
Jump Ahead to Key Moments
The Jump Ahead feature, powered by AI, helps viewers skip straight to the most interesting or popular parts of a video. Initially available on mobile and web, it is now expanding to smart TVs and gaming consoles, making it easier for Premium subscribers to focus on the highlights without manual scrubbing.
YouTube Shorts Features
Short video lovers benefit from new upgrades as well. Premium users on iOS can now enjoy Smart Downloads for Shorts, where the app automatically saves recommended clips based on their viewing habits. Plus, Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode is fully supported on iOS, letting viewers keep Shorts playing in a small window while browsing other content or apps.
More Consistency Across Devices
These upgrades mean that Premium features are becoming much more consistent across different devices and platforms. Whether on phone, tablet, web browser, smart TV, or gaming console, users will have a seamless, enhanced experience.
Exclusive AI Experiments and Perks
YouTube has also introduced an AI Labs hub for Premium members, allowing early access to experimental AI-driven features such as an AI music host that shares interesting facts and trivia about songs. This highlights YouTube’s commitment to innovating with AI and giving Premium subscribers exclusive tools.
Summary of YouTube Premium Upgrades:
- High-quality audio at 256 kbps for music videos and art tracks on mobile.
- Playback speeds up to 4x faster with precise increments.
- AI-powered Jump Ahead feature extended to TVs and consoles.
- Smart Downloads and Picture-in-Picture for YouTube Shorts on iOS.
- Access to exclusive AI Labs experiments.
- More consistent and polished experience across all platforms.
For current and potential subscribers, these upgrades enhance the value of YouTube Premium, building on its core benefits of ad-free viewing, offline access, background play, and YouTube Music integration.
With these massive upgrades, YouTube Premium continues to raise the bar, delivering more control, better quality, and innovative features to its loyal users.
