Sub-Saharan Africa is notorious for high data prices with South Africans paying just under R100 for 1GB of mobile data. This is in stark contrast to the likes of Israel, which is regarded as the cheapest country for mobile data, with customers paying less than R1 per GB.
Southern Africa is also very dependent on mobile data, with the infrastructure for fixed internet services not available in many parts of the region.
Bringing some relief to budget-conscious smartphone users, YouTube announced three new data-saving features that will focus on maximising the use of people’s mobile data while they enjoy their content on YouTube.
The three new features include:
- Data reminder – A feature that lets users set a reminder when they use a specific amount of mobile data, which they can define in the settings.
- Data saving settings – A easy way for users to control data-related features. The data-saving button enables users to save data across the app with only one tap. These settings allow users to adjust video and download quality, resulting in videos that load faster and use less data.
- Video preview and quality picker – An opt-in feature for highly data-constrained users that allows them to see a preview of a video and to select quality before every playback.
“When it comes to consuming content, Africa is very much mobile-first, but we know that data costs can still be prohibitive. These new, easy-to-use features will empower people to control their YouTube experience, allowing them to continue to consume the content they want, without data anxiety,” says YouTube Southern Africa Lead, Zeph Masote.
YouTube is well aware of the number of people who currently do not have access to affordable mobile-data plans, with Masote going on to say that over 400 million people are currently living in regions where mobile data is considered expensive.
The new features have already gone live on Android devices, while there is currently no information available on when iOS will receive these capabilities, we probably won’t have to wait too long.