After testing the feature last year, Netflix is making it official: the ability to watch shows and movies at a faster or slower speed is rolling out to its app on Android devices and will soon be available on iOS and on the web. . Netflix has confirmed the move to The Verge, and in an official post, Netflix's Keela Robison said the feature has been "highly demanded" by subscribers. Robison also points out that playback speed controls have been available on DVD players and DVRs for years. "Most important of all, our tests show that consumers appreciate the flexibility it offers, whether it's to revisit their favorite scene or slow things down because they're watching with subtitles or hearing difficulties," Robison writes. Netflix also says that user surveys suggest that perceptions of content quality are not affected by speed changes. Even so, content creators are unlikely to be happy with the move, and Robison says Netflix will listen to feedback.
Speed up, slow down
If you want to slow down your excessive consumption, speeds of 0.5x and 0.75x will be available; if you want to speed it up you can go for 1.25x or 1.5x. Similar options have been available on YouTube for years, although Google's platform allows you to choose between 0.25x and 2x. The setting will not be ``remembered'' across multiple titles, so everything you watch will start playing at normal speed until you change it. In other words, there's no master switch to watch everything on Netflix at half speed. The feature is expected to start appearing on Android starting today, but Netflix hasn't set a deadline for bringing the controls to iOS or its web player (the "trial" will now start on those platforms, apparently.) No word yet. mention this on smart TVs or other platforms. Whatever the thoughts of directors and producers, Netflix will point to the accessibility benefits of playback speed controls in order to sell them: subtitles will automatically adjust with speed, so they could be really useful for people with hearing loss, for example. example.