Skip to main content

Apple’s latest MacOS Big Sur beta brings 4K YouTube to Safari

 

If you’re a fan of the Safari web browser on your Mac, Apple just gave YouTube video playback a major upgrade in its latest macOS beta release. Now available for download, developers on the macOS Big Sur beta 4 can finally playback YouTube videos in 4K UHD resolution using Apple’s Safari browser.

Recommended Videos

Apple published details about the feature change in its Big Sur beta 4 documentation, noting that the software brings “support for 4K HDR playback of YouTube videos” in Safari and Webkit.

Prior to today’s release, YouTube video was capped at just 1080p FHD resolution when using Safari. This meant that if you wanted to play YouTube videos at resolutions greater than FHD, you had to choose an alternate browser, like Google’s Chrome. If all goes well during Apple’s beta testing period, Big Sur is expected to be released this fall for all consumers.

This change is especially notable given Apple’s push for higher resolution displays in recent years with Retina Displays appearing on smartphones, tablets, and the Mac. This means that if you own Apple’s iMac with Retina 4K Display, iMac with Retina 5K Display, iMac Pro with Retina 5K Display,  or Apple’s studio-grade Pro Display XDR panel with a Retina 6K Display, you can edit and playback YouTube videos in resolutions up to 4K.

Apple MacOS Big Sur Safari
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Initially announced earlier this summer at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference event, macOS Big Sur introduced a number of new features, including new icons, an updated menu bar, redesigned sheets, and a refreshed Notification Center — changes that will helps to unify Apple’s desktop macOS operating system with its mobile iOS and iPad OS platforms. In fact, Apple views the changes introduced with Big Sur significant enough to warrant a numerical jump to its macOS platform, moving from macOS 10 for desktops — which was initially introduced in 2001 — to macOS 11.

Big Sur is also the first operating system that kicks off Apple’s support for its own custom in-house silicon as Apple moves away from Intel. As Apple transitions to ARM-based processors for its Mac, we can likely expect to see Apple port over more features from its mobile platforms.

If you want to give Big Sur a spin ahead of its commercial release, you can begin by enrolling your Mac in Apple’s software preview program. However, before you do that, be sure to read Apple’s documentation for the latest beta release to see what problems or issues you may encounter during testing. Although Apple announced that Big Sur will be coming to supported Macs this fall, the company did not give a specific launch date.

Chuong Nguyen
Silicon Valley-based technology reporter and Giants baseball fan who splits his time between Northern California and Southern…
Window management in macOS annoys me. This free app was the fix I needed
Swift Shift app running on a MacBook.

Apple’s approach to Mac computing is rather odd. The unwavering focus on simplicity, fluidity, and elegance sets it apart from Windows. But at the same time, it can feel a lot restrictive. Nothing exemplifies that better than app windows in macOS.

Until macOS Sequoia, Apple didn’t even offer proper window tiling and snapping options. Windows has served them for a while now, and in a fashion that even power users would approve. 

Read more
I used a free app to fix my biggest problem with macOS
Depicting of the Maccy clipboard app for macOS on a laptop with letters inb the background.

I recently found myself assisting my sister with a research project. Writing a science paper is a notoriously taxing process because it is excruciatingly drab to write one,  but at the same time, you have to be meticulous with every single statement. Citations are a crucial element, and depending on the topic you have picked, you may have to sprinkle a few links in every line.

In my case, my citation list had over 140 links, a healthy few of which were open across different tabs and pushing Chrome to its limits. Yet, the most arduous part was not the struggling web browser, but the chore of cycling through tabs, merely to copy the URL or citation details from each research paper.

Read more
9 macOS Sequoia features every Mac user should know
macOS Sequoia being introduced by Apple's Craig Federighi at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024.

Apple’s macOS Sequoia operating system launched with a whole heap of interesting new features, and there’s a lot to try if you’ve just recently updated your Mac. But which new additions are worth your time, and which can be passed over?

That’s the question we’re aiming to answer today. We’ve scoured macOS Sequoia to find the nine key features that every Mac user should know about. From Apple Intelligence to iPhone Mirroring, these are the tools and technologies that you’ll want to try next.

Read more