GoKawiilJoe Maring / Android Authority
To say that I’ve been waiting for YouTube Premium Lite’s arrival in my country with bated breath is an understatement. For years, I wanted a version of YouTube Premium that removed ads but didn’t include extra bundled services like YouTube Music.
So, when I saw the pop-up to finally try the service appear in my YouTube app, I jumped at the opportunity. But after a month of using the subscription, I’m left with a bitter taste in my mouth.
Do you think that YouTube Premium Lite offers enough value for money? 17 votes Yes 18 % No 82 %
YouTube Premium Lite had one job, and it failed
Megan Ellis / Android Authority
YouTube Premium has never appealed to me for one major reason — I don’t use YouTube Music, and I don’t want to switch. This aversion to YouTube Music was really cemented in my mind when I tried out its free version last year. Due to medical expenses, I had a period when I canceled all my subscriptions except Google One. Spotify’s free version is still bearable, but YouTube Music’s free experience on mobile is just untenable for me.
As such, I patiently waited for YouTube Premium Lite to arrive in South Africa. That moment arrived when Google officially launched Lite in all countries where Premium is available. I knew that the cheaper plan still includes ads on YouTube Shorts and music videos, but figured that since I don’t watch shorts, this wouldn’t really bother me.
I'd made peace with ads in music videos and shorts, but then found them in more places in the app.
I finally signed up for the service when it arrived, excited to be free of the ads that plague me when watching YouTube on my TV. But when I started scrolling through the app after activating my plan, I noticed that sponsored videos still appeared constantly across the app. On my TV, the first video in my recommended feed is always an ad. This didn’t change with YouTube Premium Lite.
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