If you watched the launch of the Galaxy Note 9 yesterday morning, then you may have had the same WTF? moment as many of us when Samsung announced that the Note9 was a YouTube Signature Device. We’ve had a look around and found out what it is, and there’s actually a few devices already certified.

YouTube Signature devices are apparently a ‘best in-class’ experience thing that YouTube has launched to ensure users get the best experience of their platform. The YouTube Device report website has the low-down on what it is, and also which devices are included. The full text of what makes a YouTube Signature Device is here:


These smartphones can deliver the best-in-class YouTube experience by combining next generation technologies, video performance, and reliability. With a Signature Device, you can enjoy vivid HDR videos, immersive 360° video, and fast video load times – all while using less bandwidth.

To qualify as a Signature Device, a phone must support high dynamic range, high frame rate, reliable DRM performance, 4K decoding, and use next generation video codecs. We’ve worked with manufacturers to verify these devices meet or exceed our performance expectations.

So now we all know what a YouTube Signature Device is, the question is now – is my device one of them? Well, there’s actually quite a few already certified but the full list includes:

  • Samsung:
    • Galaxy Note 9
    • Galaxy Note 8
    • Galaxy S9
    • Galaxy S9+
    • Galaxy S8
    • Galaxy S8+
  • Sony:
    • Xperia XZ2
    • Xperia XZ2 Premium
    • Xperia XZ2 Compact
  • HTC:
    • HTC U12+
  • OnePlus:
    • OnePlus 6
  • LG:
    • LG G7 ThinQ
    • LG V30
  • Xiaomi:
    • Xiaomi Mi 8
    • Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S
  • Nokia:
    • Nokia 8 Sirocco
  • Google:
    • Pixel 2
    • Pixel 2 XL
  • Huawei:
    • Huawei Mate 10 Pro

There’s no mention of whether manufacturers have to pay for the certification, and it’s possible there’s a lot of handsets not included on the list could possibly make the list if they were tested. If you’ve not had issues with viewing YouTube previously then there’s nothing to worry about, this is just another thing for manufacturers to list at a launch.

Source: YouTube Device Reports.

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    Manoj Bhandari

    Even after all that “signature” certification the bloody thing starts streaming in 480p despite the network delivering 75Mbps speed at all times.

    whitelunchbag

    Yep, this frustrates me too, constantly having to change the resolution even with 100/40 NBN