There is a new tier of YouTube subscription being tested in some countries and we’re really hoping it makes it way to the rest of the world sooner rather than later.
YouTube Premium Lite is reportedly being tested in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands, but what is Premium Lite?
This new subscription tier is priced lower than a Premium subscription and it removes some features such as the ability to download content for offline viewing or being able to have a video play minimised on your smartphone.
In the countries where Premium Lite is being tested a subscription costs €6.99 (~R119.70) while a Premium subscription costs €11.99 (~R205.33) so Lite is a substantial saving.
In a report from The Verge, a YouTube spokesperson reiterated that the only thing included in Premium Lite is ad-free videos. This also means you won’t have access to YouTube Music which replaced Google Play Music in 2020.
We would’ve liked to have seen a package that allows for offline download and background play but without the YouTube Music subscription and we might get our wish.
YouTube told The Verge that the subscription tier is in an experimental phase it will will consider rolling out more plans based on audience feedback.
While the URL for YouTube Premium Lite is live the page doesn’t carry any pricing and clicking on “Manage” took us to our subscription page where YouTube Premium Lite wasn’t an available option.
Looks like we’re stuck with Premium for a while still.
