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If you’re using YouTube, it supports other formats than just H.264. So, in that instance, lack of H.264 isn’t noticeable.

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Unless you don't have hardware accelerated decoding for VP8/9. Then it is very noticeable, especially on a laptop.

this!

h264 is the most widely supported codec to decode in hardware, so the inclusion of a software decoder in the browser is kinda moot.

This completely killed my Tegra K1-based chromebook. What good is a Google laptop with a full HD display, if it can't play Youtube videos in any resolution higher than 480p?

That would be very odd because YouTube definitely supports H.264 videos in higher than 480p resolutions. VP9 is only exclusively used for some formats/resolutions (e.g., HDR is VP9-only, I think).

It's been a while since I sold it, but it would just choke on anything 720p or higher.

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