Apple TV YouTube App Rolling Out 4K Support

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One of the new tvOS 14 features highlighted by Apple was support for watching 4K videos in the YouTube app, but when ‌tvOS 14‌ launched, Apple TV 4K users quickly noticed that support wasn't available.

youtube4kvideo
That appears to be changing, as there are reports on Reddit (via FlatpanelsHD) that support for 4K YouTube videos is starting to roll out. Multiple users have reported seeing 4K playback options in the YouTube app on ‌tvOS 14‌, tvOS 14.0.1, and tvOS 14.2.

4K support has not yet rolled out to all users, however, as in our tests, we were not able to access 4K YouTube content and continued to have a 1080p limitation. While 4K content appears to be available, those with access are still not able to enable HDR, and 4K videos are limited to 30 frames per second.

It's unclear if the lack of HDR is temporary or a limitation on the 4K ‌Apple TV‌, and it's also not known when 4K content will be available for all. It seems to be rolling out though, so there may not be too much longer to wait. YouTube in September said that ‌Apple TV‌ 4K would support 4K YouTube playback "soon."

Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 14
Tag: YouTube
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Buy Now)
Related Forum: Apple TV and Home Theater

Top Rated Comments

LegCortex Avatar
LegCortex
8 months ago
The most annoying part of all this is that YouTube was serving full native 4K videos during the iOS/iPadOS 14 betas, but now UHD is restricted to HDR videos for some godforsaken reason. Makes me wonder what kind of BS they have in store for tvOS.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacStreamer Avatar
MacStreamer
8 months ago
I wish YouTube would offer a $4.99 plan for an ad-free YouTube only experience. I have no desire to pay $11.99.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Realityck Avatar
Realityck
8 months ago

You need the top HDMI cables for this to work.
If you can watch 4K Dolby Vision streaming, your already good enough! :p
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aaronhead14 Avatar
aaronhead14
8 months ago
Glad progress is being made. But at the same time, it feels kinda pointless if HDR isn’t supported...
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sonamo Avatar
sonamo
8 months ago
And it's doing it without the T2 chip!! ?
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
caliguy Avatar
caliguy
8 months ago
They need to fix scrubbing on video playback. It's so awful not to have an inertia or ability to easily skip forward/backward 30sec.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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