YouTube, the world’s most popular video platform, is getting a handy new feature. The service has allowed users to control video playback speed for a while now. However, YouTube web now lets you tweak playback speed in a more granular way, thanks to the new “Custom” option.
Last month, free and Premium users of the YouTube app for Android and iOS devices received it. Now it’s the turn of the YouTube website, which also has millions of daily users. That means you will no longer have to settle for limited preset speed settings when watching YouTube videos from your PC.
YouTube’s “Custom” playback speed controls arrive on the web version
YouTube previously offered only the following options for video playback speed adjustment: 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, Normal, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, and 2.0. While this may be enough for most, there are users who have always wanted more granular adjustments. That’s now possible via the new “Custom” option available from the “Playback Speed” menu of YouTube’s video player.
The “Custom” option will appear at the top of the preset playback speed options. It works via a slider that you can move to the right or left. This allows you to control the video playback speed with much greater precision and at more levels than before. The classic presets only allowed speed adjustments in the range of x0.25, while the new slider enables jumps of x0.05.
This new feature is rolling out more widely
YouTube maintains its maximum and minimum video playback speed settings at x0.25 and x2, respectively. Your custom setting will be available for all videos during the session.
In particular, this feature has been available on my YouTube account for over a month now—for the web as well. I thought it was already a thing for everyone, since my account isn’t particularly prone to getting new features early.
Anyway, it looks like the YouTube team is now rolling out the feature massively. The platform has been receiving other new features recently, such as AI-powered auto video dubs for knowledge and information channels.
