Yes. YouTube Premium’s high-quality audio control offers a maximum of 256 kbps for eligible music videos and Art Tracks. Choose High in the audio-quality settings to use it when the video and connection support it; the setting does not make every upload a 256 kbps stream.
What YouTube Premium’s audio control does
YouTube announced high-quality audio as a Premium experiment on January 22, 2025. The announcement described 256 kbps audio on music videos, and YouTube Help now documents the setting for music videos and Art Tracks. The feature controls audio delivery; it does not guarantee that an upload was mastered or encoded at that bitrate.
For comparison, YouTube’s documented 256 kbps ceiling applies to eligible content with the Premium high-quality option. The announcement and current Help page do not establish one universal bitrate for ordinary playback, so it is not possible to give a supported like-for-like figure for standard playback.
Where high-quality audio is available
The documented eligible content is music videos and Art Tracks. The setting is available in the YouTube app and YouTube Music app on mobile. On smart TVs, streaming devices, and game consoles, it is selected from an individual video’s playback settings.
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How to turn on high-quality audio
On a phone or tablet
- Open the YouTube app or YouTube Music app.
- Open Settings → Quality → Audio quality.
- Choose High to prefer the higher-quality stream, or Auto to let YouTube adjust audio quality to network conditions.
On a smart TV, streaming device, or game console
- Start an eligible music video or Art Track.
- Open the video’s Settings → Audio menu.
- Select High-quality audio.
Why a song may not play at 256 kbps
256 kbps is a maximum, not a promise for each track or playback session. YouTube says the original upload quality sets the maximum stream available: a source uploaded at 128 kbps cannot be turned into a 256 kbps stream. Network conditions matter too; Auto favors high quality when the connection is optimal for stable playback, while a weaker or variable connection can affect delivery.
To make differences easier to hear, use headphones or external speakers rather than relying on a device’s small built-in speakers. They do not change the stream’s bitrate, and YouTube does not endorse a particular model.
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What the announcement does—and does not—promise
YouTube Premium’s January 22, 2025 announcement presented high-quality audio as part of a set of new experiments for Premium members. The current Help documentation explains the available controls and their limits. Neither the announcement nor the documented setting means every YouTube video receives the higher bitrate: eligibility, the quality of the source upload, and network conditions all matter.
Sources: YouTube’s January 22, 2025 announcement; Google’s companion announcement; YouTube Help: high-quality audio.
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