YouTube's Signature Device list is meant to distinguish phones that can play YouTube better

It's nice to just kick back sometimes and enjoy a little YouTube while you're trying to kill time. But did you know your device might not be giving the best experience possible?

The firm has now released a list of smartphones, that will "deliver the best-in-class YouTube experience by combining next generation technologies, video performance, and reliability". Now you might be asking, what makes these devices that are in this program so special? Well, according to YouTube, in order for a device to be considered for the program, and qualify as a Signature Device, it must:

Support high dynamic range
Support high frame rate
Offer reliable DRM performance
Support 4K decoding
Use next generation video codecs

Now, most of the above are pretty self-explanatory, but what does it mean that the device must be using "next generation" video codecs? The YouTube website offers to shed some light on the subject, stating:

"Watch high resolution videos on YouTube while using up to 30% less bandwidth. 2019 Signature Devices are built with hardware VP9 profile 2 decoding, an advanced video codec technology."

Just in case you were wondering, these are the phones that have the honor of being designated a Signature Device.

If you have been watching YouTube on a non-Signature Device, you might want to reconsider some things or if you're like the majority of people who enjoy the platform for what it is, just consider the Signature Device moniker as something new conjured up by YouTube in order to allow device makers to slap another distinction on their product.

Source: YouTube