YouTube App
Credit: Souvik Banerjee/Unsplash
YouTube is testing an option that could give users a better audio experience. Android Authority has discovered new code strings in the latest YouTube app beta that suggest an upcoming audio quality adjustment option. This would let users change audio quality separately from video quality.
Currently, changing the video resolution on YouTube does not affect the audio quality of a video. Whether you're watching in 144p or 4K, YouTube's audio format remains the same. The audio coding format is displayed as "Opus 251" in Stats for Nerds, which corresponds to 128Kbps variable bitrate 48KHz audio.
This means that even if a video looks top-notch, its audio quality depends on the uploader and is fixed by YouTube. Users have no control over it. This can be problematic when videos are uploaded with subpar sound.
According to the discovered strings, users may be able to select from three options: Auto, Normal, and High. Auto likely adjusts the audio quality based on internet speed, Normal is probably YouTube's standard audio quality, and High is a higher bitrate option that could improve clarity.
It seems that this option may only be available to YouTube Premium subscribers based on the code. Also, the option to choose audio quality might not be available for all videos. The code also shows that selecting a higher audio-quality stream would use more data, as expected.
There's no official word on when or if this audio quality option will be widely released.