YouTube has ended the 4K premium feature test

YouTube has been shut down The experimentYou can now watch 4K videos with the $11.99 per month premium membership According to one its official Twitter accounts (via 9to5Google). Earlier this month, the company made waves when it confirmed with a series of now-deleted tweets that some of its users were part of a test meant to explore “the feature preferences Premium & non-Premium viewers,” and asking users to provide feedback on the idea.

The idea of having to pay to access higher resolution videos was a divisive one, with some users calling it a sign of the platform’s downfall, and others saying it was understandable given the cost of streaming 4K content. YouTube’s announcement that it had “fully turned off” the experiment, opening the 4K option back up for everyone, was even in response to a snarky tweet about it forcing premium subscriptions. It’s unclear how many people were actually restricted from choosing higher resolutions when the test was in effect.

YouTube ending the test doesn’t necessarily mean that it’ll never restrict 4K to Premium subscribers again — we’ve seen even unpopular experiments, like the Eliminating public dislike numbers, being Months after the tests were completed, they were rolled out, and Team YouTube’s tweet doesn’t say anything about what it learned from the test. Earlier this year, Google’s CEO warned employees that the company needs to be “more entrepreneurial, working with greater urgency, sharper focus, and more hunger than we’ve shown on sunnier days,” and The company’s most recent earnings reports showed that YouTube’s revenue growth had slowed. You can enjoy 4K videos again, but they might not be available forever.