Playing videos on YouTube at 2x speed has been available for quite some time now, but this new feature is under its testing so that users may access speed rates in just one click. This is under YouTube's experiments page and it would be available until August 13 for the public to try, but it is unknown if the streaming platform would add this feature permanently for videos.
Instead of going through a series of clicks before accessing YouTube videos' playback speed options, this feature simplifies all the necessary steps and speed watching the online content available.
New YouTube Feature to Watch Videos at 2x Speed Easily
(Photo : Christian Wiediger from Unsplash)
YouTube's experimental page gives a glimpse into what features are new and available to try for specific users on the platform, and one of its latest additions is the 2x playback speed when long-pressing on the screens. This means that users only need to press a certain number of seconds to activate this feature, and voila, their videos will run twice as fast as before.
According to The Verge, while this feature was already made available for all users, they need to go on several steps to activate it, and it is different for the mobile and web experience.
(Photo : YouTube)
For mobile, users need to click on the three-dot menu and choose playback speed to choose one's preferred quickness of its stream. On the desktop, users either need to click on the shift menu and use the less than or greater than keys (period and comma keys) to choose their speed.
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There's a Catch in YouTube's New Experimental Feature
However, there is a catch in using this new experimental feature, as it is only available for users under the YouTube Premium subscription. Despite being behind the paywall, there is still a possibility that it will arrive soon, but there are no announcements yet for this feature coming to the app or web experiences.
YouTube and the Many Features Available
There are many features available on YouTube that could help in expanding more of one's experience and spice up the regular streaming activities in one's daily consumption of its content. However, YouTube recently adds more features to its Premium tier experiences for these paid users to access, but not so much for those who are in the Free accounts.
One of the most important Premium features for smartphones is background playback where users no longer need to have the YouTube app open whenever streaming. While that can be easily obtained by paying what Google and YouTube ask from users for subscriptions, there are still ways how to bypass it and use it without paying.
YouTube has been around for decades and if you are an avid content consumer of the platform, surfing through videos fast and maximizing one's experience has been a significant part, and it is through the 2x playback speed. With this new YouTube Premium experimental feature, users may do this with only a long press on the screen, and none of the many steps to take to get it.
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