You’ll now have to fork out for an additional subscription if you want to watch 4K content on Prime Video
Amazon is pricing its Prime Video subscription ad-free and locking 4K UHD streaming behind this new tier. Starting April 10 for US customers, a rebranded Prime Video Ultra subscription will cost $5 per month, down from $3 per month.
For that extra $2, you get an increase in download capacity from 25 to 100, and you can now run five streams simultaneously instead of three. Whether these “Ultra” upgrades are worth the $24 annual hike will likely depend on how many box sets you like to go through on a long flight or how many devices use your Prime Video account.
The changes are particularly galling for Prime members who automatically qualify for Prime Video with ads through their membership, as Amazon has decided to remove 4K streaming from the standard tier. This means that even if you already pay $15 per month or $139 per year for Amazon Prime, you’ll be stuck with 1080p shows and movies unless you sign up for Prime Video Ultra.
Amazon has integrated support for Dolby Vision for the first time, while increasing the number of simultaneous streams and downloads on its free tier, but you lose the privilege of UHD content that has been available to all Prime Video members for years. Dolby Atmos also remains exclusive to the $5 tier.
Amazon is the latest streamer to raise prices, following recent hikes similar to , and . If you don’t want to give the company more of what you’ve hard earned, you have just under a month to fight your way through the second season of in all its irradiated UHD glory.
