While you probably will want to watch videos in their highest possible resolution, there are sometimes limitations with the device, app restrictions, slow internet connection, bandwidth limitations, paywalled subscriptions, etc. Well Android users will finally lose one of those as the YouTube app finally gets support for 4K videos after iOS users were able to get it first. So as long as the uploaded video is in 4K or larger, you will now have the option to watch it in the highest quality possible, which now is 2160p or 4K.
Previously, you could watch YouTube videos only up to 1440p on the Android app even if the original uploaded video quality is 4K. Google initially made 4K support for iOS devices first with Android devices to follow. Well, that day seems to have started last week and now it seems to have rolled out for everyone already. Your video will initially play in the default resolution that you set the app with but of course you can manually change it.
In the resolution options, you’ll now see a 2160p60 HDR or 2160p option, depending on what quality the video was uploaded originally. It also doesn’t seem to matter what your phone’s display is so you can still play a 2160p video on a 720p display, although obviously you won’t be able to see it in its original resolution. But you can still play it that way if you choose to and no app restriction can stop you.
Of course the other considerations may still be there and will affect your choice in resolution. For example if you’re not connected to wifi and you’re on a limited data plan, you’ll probably not want to watch it in 4K unless you want to spend all your data watching this specific video on YouTube. But at least now you have the choice to do whatever you want when watching videos, at least quality-wise.
The feature started rolling out to users last February 15 and it looks to have completed its rollout. But in case you still haven’t received it yet, Android Police says you can get the latest YouTube version from APK Mirror.
