Key Takeaways

  • YouTube now offers granular playback speed control on both mobile and web.
  • The latest slider allows users to adjust playback speed in 0.05x increments.
  • This new feature caters to users who want precise control over their YouTube viewing experience.



YouTube is the center for every kind of user-generated video content ranging from video game playthroughs to first-aid guides you never know when you’ll need. However, you might not want to watch both these kinds of videos at the same rate, especially if you’re in a critical situation, like a medical emergency. That’s where YouTube’s playback speed options can save the day. A new slider that enables more granular control of this speed has just rolled out to web users.

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YouTube’s new playback speed slider lets you get as granular as you want

Fine tune your YouTube experience

By default, player controls on YouTube allow manipulation of playback speed in 0.5x increments from 1x, the default playback rate, all the way to 2x faster or 0.25x at the slower end of the scale. So, you could watch a video at twice the normal speed if you’re in a hurry, or a quarter of the original if you really wish they panned the camera slower. I often use this option when I find presenters a little slow-paced for my liking.


Recently, Google gave the YouTube app a new slider to fine-tune this playback speed. It’s available atop the old menu in a new Custom speed section. In the Android app, this slider opens up in a bottom sheet of sorts, with plus and minus buttons on either side for fine-tuning, and pill-shaped buttons at the bottom to choose one of the popular presets.


This slider is now rolling out on the web

Global simultaneous release

YouTube-playback-speed-slider-web

Now, this slider is available to users on the web as well. Several people on the Android Police team confirmed seeing it roll out today. We believe it is now available worldwide. The appearance and location are unchanged from the mobile UI with the slider still nestled in the Playback speed settings under Custom, and changes available in 0.05x increments instead of the 0.5x presets available until now.



However, you won’t see the plus and minus buttons flanking the slider on the web, and will have to use precise mouse movements or keyboard shortcuts for fine-tuning. Although the total range of the slider is the same as the presets we had, granular personalization is a welcome change.