YouTube recently decided to reclassify 720p video as SD quality. Users of the YouTube desktop site and mobile apps will no longer see an "HD" badge next to 720p. While the decision is largely semantic in nature, it underscores how technology has moved on from the original HD standard.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apparently-720p-isn-t-HD-anymore-according-to-YouTube-sorry-iPhone-11-and-iPhone-SE-2-users-but-it-s-time-to-move-on.465756.0.html
I think that's funny how YouTube is now considering 1080p it's HD preferd setting however what about the old 720p60 as that was like watching video's live and very crisp and clear
I'm not sure about the history but for me, 720p was never proper HD. Right from the beginning, I saw it as a marketing exercise so that TV manufacturers could put HD badge even on cheaper units with lower resolution displays, diluting it and therefore necessitating the existence of Full HD moniker. Were there even 576p LCD TVs? Or plasma TVs? I can't recall. I mean full size units. Proper 720p is actually pretty good. Even on a decently sized desktop monitor. In the end, it's all about bit rates. That essentially signifies how much information, how much detail there is. Not to mention that camera matters.
"sorry iPhone 11 and iPhone SE 2 users, but it's time to move on" - who cares when the UI of your phone resizes everything you see on your screen to a much lower resolution??? E.g. it was 568x320 in the older iPhone SE's case, exactly 50% of the native 1136x640 resolution. Otherwise the elements would be too small to hit with your finger. The expensive Galaxy you paid a thousand bucks for, while having a super duper high density 9999p screen, probably displays the actual content at a meager res of 768x432 or maybe 800x450. The article is not up to Notebookcheck standards.
It should have never been considered HD in the beginning.
If 1080p is FULL HD, then anything less isn't.
You wouldn't call a 1/2 cup a cup. You don't just round up measurements
The last 720p video I uploaded was 8 years ago. So for once, I agree with Youtube/Google.