HDR on YouTube is now supported on iPhone X, 8 and 8 Plus, joining the Google Pixel, LG V30 and Samsung Galaxy S8, as well as Sony’s Xperia XZ Premium. These are the first iOS devices to enable their users to watch HDR content on YouTube.
Analyst Comment
This is a surprising turn of events. Up until now, YouTube has only offered Ultra HD and HDR content encoded with Google’s proprietary VP9 video codec, while Apple devices have stuck fast with HEVC. On the face of it, this development means that either Google is making HDR videos available in multiple formats now, or Apple sneaked VP9 support into its newest iPhones without us knowing.
I’m sure time will tell, but if it is the case that YouTube HDR is supporting more formats now, that will mean that the platform can support far more devices than it did previously, including Apple TV. (AF)
