This is a feature graduating from experiment to product: Netflix first let Android users try up-to-1.5x viewing in an Android app test back in late 2019, and nine months later it is shipping the full 0.5x–1.5x range with an iOS trial queued next.
Netflix's Android users immediately gain fine-grained control over how long content takes to watch, while iOS users become the test group for the same option.
Second-order effects
With YouTube already offering more granular speed options plus sleep timers and miniplayer upgrades, Netflix faces pressure to keep matching rival player features or cede the 'utility' argument to Google's platform.
Third-order effects
Player experience is becoming a competitive layer in streaming: alongside data-saver settings and the later-shipped audio-only and Video Off modes on Android, Netflix is absorbing the consumption-control toolkit that made YouTube sticky, shifting competition from catalog alone toward how efficiently people can watch.
The trend: Streaming apps are converging on YouTube-style player utilities — speed control, audio-only, data management — turning playback customization into table stakes rather than differentiation.
Speed-watching... can't imaging this is a good idea, or respectful of the work that Directors, Actors, Cinematographers, and Editors do. https://twitter.com/...
This, unfortunately, is much more than “Don't like it? Don't use it.” Editing, pacing, and the length of a shot is inextricable from the art of a film. And Netflix is such a huge platform with so many eyeballs on it that this will impact the way we consume film. For worse. https:…
I respectfully decline using this feature except when I am trying to see a friend's screen credit which only lasts for 10 frames. https://twitter.com/...
Daily reminder that the YouTube app for literally 0 TV platforms supports this despite all the mobile apps having it. Oh Google. https://twitter.com/...
Interesting! Netflix is rolling out the controversial playback speed controls it tested last year. You will be able to stream at either 0.5x or 0.75x speeds for slowed-down viewing and 1.25x or 1.5x speeds for faster watching https://www.theverge.com/...
On the one hand, this is an abomination. On the other, way too many Netflix dramas are so skimpy with plot and characterization that they seem built to be watched at at least 1.5x speed. https://twitter.com/...
In my professional opinion, once you're speeding up TV so you can consume more of it, you should probably just log off and read a book. https://twitter.com/...
now everyone can have the same terrible power as tv critics with little free time and the “video speed controller” chrome extension https://twitter.com/...
It's kinda nuts the Hollywood guilds (especially the DGA) haven't intervened here or instructed talent lawyers to target this in deals. https://www.theverge.com/...