Anthropic Eyes $350 Billion Valuation as AI Funding and Share Sale Accelerate 
Global PC Makers Eye Chinese Memory Chip Suppliers Amid Ongoing Supply Crunch 
Ford and Geely Explore Strategic Manufacturing Partnership in Europe 
Rio Tinto Shares Hit Record High After Ending Glencore Merger Talks 
Google Cloud and Liberty Global Forge Strategic AI Partnership to Transform European Telecom Services 
SpaceX Pushes for Early Stock Index Inclusion Ahead of Potential Record-Breaking IPO 
Trump Backs Nexstar–Tegna Merger Amid Shifting U.S. Media Landscape 
Instagram Outage Disrupts Thousands of U.S. Users 
Uber Ordered to Pay $8.5 Million in Bellwether Sexual Assault Lawsuit 
Once Upon a Farm Raises Nearly $198 Million in IPO, Valued at Over $724 Million 
Baidu Approves $5 Billion Share Buyback and Plans First-Ever Dividend in 2026 
Sony Q3 Profit Jumps on Gaming and Image Sensors, Full-Year Outlook Raised 
Sam Altman Reaffirms OpenAI’s Long-Term Commitment to NVIDIA Amid Chip Report 
Washington Post Publisher Will Lewis Steps Down After Layoffs 
FDA Targets Hims & Hers Over $49 Weight-Loss Pill, Raising Legal and Safety Concerns 
Tencent Shares Slide After WeChat Restricts YuanBao AI Promotional Links 
Expanding its reach, YouTube has introduced the “Premium Lite” plan—with limited ads and a half-price tag—to Australia, Germany, and Thailand.
YouTube's "Premium Lite" Expands to New Countries
According to 9to5Google, YouTube's "Premium Lite" plan, which is priced at around half of what the standard Premium tier costs, is gradually making its way to new nations.
The only thing that YouTube's "Premium Lite" subscription does for a monthly fee is remove adverts. "Premium Lite" simply eliminates advertisements, and not YouTube Music, offline downloads, or background play, like the regular Premium subscriptions. And according to YouTube's own explanation, it just leads to "limited ads," not their complete removal.
Testing Continues in Select Countries
After much experimentation, Google finally dropped support for their "Lite" plan in the majority of nations in late 2023. Nonetheless, it was never truly dormant; at the time, Google confirmed plans to keep testing—in Thailand.
More and more people have mentioned seeing the option as of late. A screenshot of the idea was published on Threads by Australian singer-songwriter Jonah Manzano. The strategy went live a few months ago for others.
Pricing and Availability in Key Markets
"Premium Lite" is half the price of the regular Premium plan in Australia, which costs $22.99 per month, at $11.99 per month. It appears that a $8.99/month price is also being tested. A few months ago, users in Germany also discovered that the option was accessible, but at €5.99/month, which is around half the price of the full package.
Google Confirms Broader Testing
The three countries listed above are not the only ones where Google has confirmed to Android Authority that YouTube "Premium Lite" is being tested.
It's possible that consumers in Thailand, Australia, and Germany will see an option to sign up for Premium Lite because we're testing a different version of the service.
If Google intends to broaden this idea, it is not apparent at this time.
