YouTube Music web app gains audio quality streaming settings

Abner Li | Dec 3 2018 - 8:29 am PT

Back in September, YouTube Music for Android and iOS added streaming and downloading quality controls to let users better manage data usage on mobile. These settings are now coming to the YouTube Music web app.

These simple controls allow you to determine the quality of your audio. Heading to Settings by tapping your profile icon in the top-right corner will reveal a new Audio menu.

Titled “Audio quality,” the default option is “Normal,” though YouTube does not specify — just like on mobile — the exact streaming bit rate. Google just notes that “Lower quality uses less data” and “Higher quality uses more data.” After making a change, a toast message will appear in the bottom-left corner to confirm that the new quality will update with the next song.

Besides audio quality, these controls obviously aid in managing data usage in constrained environments. It’s a small feature but an appreciated one. These YouTube Music settings appears to be widely rolled out on the web at this point.

Meanwhile, last week, YouTube Music for Android gained equalizer support to adjust audio settings, as well as discounted student plans for Music and Premium. The Android app is also working on an autoplay feature and the ability to play on-device audio files, just like Google Play Music. This is a crucial feature for Google to fully truly transition YouTube Music to its only audio service.