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YouTube says its app works best on these 19 phones

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By Alan Friedman

Published: Aug 10, 2018, 9:32 AM

YouTube says its app works best on these 19 phones

YouTube released on Thursday, its inaugural "Signature Devices" report. These are handsets that use next-gen technology to provide users with a "best-in-class YouTube experience." The phones on the list "support high dynamic range, high frame rate, reliable DRM performance, 4K decoding, and use next generation video codecs." They also use less bandwidth to stream content from Google's video streaming app.

Now you might notice the absence of any Apple iPhone model on the list, which seems odd considering that the original iPhone was the first smartphone to offer a YouTube client. But the current batch of iPhone models do not support Google's VP9 video codec, which prevents those with an iOS powered handset from watching YouTube video in 4K. And it eliminates the iPhone from consideration as a YouTube Signature Device.

The phones that YouTube says work best with the current version of the app include:

source: YouTube

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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