Amazon Prime is one of the best subscriptions money can buy. No, really. For $14.99/mo, not only do you get fast shipping, you also get access to Prime Video, Amazon Music, Prime Reading, Amazon Photos, Amazon Luna, and other perks.
However, even the most reliable subscriptions aren’t immune to changes. Companies are constantly trying to upsell services, and Amazon doesn’t want to be left behind.
9 super Amazon Prime benefits you probably don’t even know about
Are you missing out on these sweet perks?
As it stands right now, Prime Video is free with an Amazon Prime membership, albeit with ads. If you want to go ad-free, you pay Amazon $2.99 extra per month (on top of your Prime membership). This is changing now.
The ad-free plan, starting April 10, will be renamed to Prime Video Ultra, and instead of being $2.99 extra, it’ll cost users an extra $4.99 per month.
The price increase might make sense for users that are already paying for the higher-tier subscription, and want even more advanced features. That’s cool. However, the change will also force existing ‘standard’ tier users to pay more and opt for the new ‘Ultra’ membership.
That’s because 4K/UHD streaming, which was previously available across tiers, is now limited to the new Prime Video Ultra subscription.
You win some, you lose some
|
Feature |
Standard Prime Video |
Prime Video Ultra |
|
Price |
Included with Prime |
+$4.99/mo |
|
Ads |
Yes |
No |
|
Resolution |
HD (1080p) |
4K / UHD |
|
Audio |
Standard Surround |
Dolby Atmos |
|
Concurrent Streams |
4 (Up from 3) |
5 (Up from 3) |
|
Downloads |
50 (Up from 25) |
100 (Up from 25) |
While Amazon is taking a lot away by limiting 4K resolution to the more expensive plan, it is giving the base plan Dolby Vision support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) video format (of course, only if your TV offers Dolby Vision).
Additionally, standard users can now have 4 concurrent streams (up from 3) and 50 offline downloads (up from 25). The upgrades are clearly there to soften the blow of losing 4K support.
Why the change? Because, according to Amazon, “Delivering ad-free streaming with premium features requires significant investment,” and that the new subscription structure” aligns with other major streaming services while ensuring customers have the flexibility to choose how they want to watch.”
Are you a Prime Video user? Will you be upgrading to the new ‘Ultra’ subscription? Or are you sticking with standard? Let us know in the comments below!
Thanks Armando!
