Android smartphones that are certified as YouTube Signature Devices

At the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 back in August 2018, many of us heard, for the first time, of YouTube Signature Devices.

What are they?

Simply put, YouTube Signature Devices are, in our case, smartphones that have been tested by YouTube and determined to provide users with the best experience when consuming YouTube content. This includes the best video experience and fast load times under optimal conditions.

The “best video experience” can be broken down further to mean that:

Such devices let users access HDR content on YouTube. There isn’t a lot of HDR content on the platform but hey, for a device to be certified by YouTube as being a YouTube Signature Device, it needs to let users playback such content, where available.
They are able to let users fully immerse themselves in whatever they are watching by letting them be able to playback 360-degree videos either using virtual reality headsets or just panning using their finger.
The devices certified under this programme have been tested and proven to be able to decode and allow 4K video playback.
The devices can playback content at high frame rates i.e. over 60 frames per second, for super-smooth video playback.
They are compliant with Digital Rights Management (DRM) copy protection to assure the intellectual property of content creators and other YouTube partners. This is especially important since YouTube also offers TV shows and movies on its platform – the latter directly in some markets and the former through YouTube TV universally where it is accessible.
They support the necessary “next-generation” codecs like Google’s VP9 codec.

While it is during the Note 9’s unveiling that many of us got to hear about the existence of such a programme, and, the first time that YouTube was making public its existence, devices certified under it, as we can see below, include those released before the Galaxy Note 9 as well: