YouTube Premium Lite just got a huge upgrade — but I’m keeping the $14/month plan for 3 reasons
Source: Android Authority
Do you have YouTube Premium Lite?
25 votes
I can’t live without YouTube Music Premium
The biggest missing feature from YouTube Premium Lite, and one that will almost always remain exclusive to regular YouTube Premium, is access to YouTube Music Premium. I recently explained why I don’t use YouTube Music as my primary music streaming service, but I still need the service.
I wear a Garmin Venu 4 as my daily smartwatch and primary running watch. Apple Music, my main music streamer, doesn’t have a Garmin app, whereas YouTube Music does. I use YouTube Music to download albums and playlists for offline listening on my watch while I run. All other music listening happens through Apple Music, but for my watch I rely on YouTube Music.
It’s a convoluted strategy, and I wouldn’t have this issue if I used Spotify. Still, for an Apple Music user like me, having YouTube Music Premium bundled with my YouTube Premium subscription is essential.
Jump Ahead is so, so good
YouTube Music is the biggest reason I stay with the more expensive plan, but there are two other features not available in Premium Lite that I use frequently. One of them is the Jump Ahead feature.
Both Premium tiers remove pre‑ and mid‑roll ads, but in‑video sponsorships remain a nuisance. Jump Ahead uses AI to identify the parts of a video that most viewers skip and adds a “Jump Ahead” button to skip directly to the point where people resume watching—typically the end of a sponsored segment. It’s essentially a one‑click way to bypass sponsorships, and I use it practically every day.
The mobile queue is a lifesaver
Another feature I love is the mobile queue. When watching YouTube on a phone, Premium lets you create a queue of videos to play next, so you don’t have to search for something new when the current video ends.
I don’t use the queue at home, but it’s indispensable at the gym. I can line up a series of videos, set my phone on the treadmill stand, and keep running without hunting for the next video. It’s a simple yet powerful feature that keeps me from switching to Premium Lite.
The updates to YouTube Premium Lite are impressive—adding background playback and video downloads while keeping the $8 /month price. However, for my own needs, the $14 /month plan still makes the most sense.