YouTube has moved to use the AV1 codec by default, a decision that has caused some concern among Android users. The AV1 codec, which is becoming increasingly popular with the rise of 4K video, offers better quality on Android devices. Google has rolled out support for a new AV1 decoder to many Android devices, but apps must specifically declare their intent to use this feature.
YouTube has chosen to use the new decoder by default, which has led to concerns about battery life due to the lack of hardware acceleration support. This change primarily affects users with older devices and mid-range phones, as most newer high-end phones have hardware decoding support for AV1. These users may have to rely on software decoding now that YouTube has opted for the libdav1d decoder, which could impact their battery life.
The AV1 codec helps maintain video quality during compression and decoding, leading to excitement about the potential for higher quality AV1 video. However, it’s worth noting that Google isn’t the first to make such a change to a widely used service like YouTube. Netflix did something similar for its Android app users in 2020, making AV1 its new standard.
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