Netflix might soon roll out a brand new feature that should improve your streaming experience on mobile devices, assuming testing goes well. Some Android users have noticed that the Netflix app now packs a functionality that many people enjoy on other streaming products, especially when it comes to consuming content on the go. That’s variable playback speed, which allows you to slow down or increase the speed of videos on mobile devices, or a feature that’s not even available on the web Netflix app.
The following screenshot, via Android Police), shows four extra playback speed options, in addition to the normal setting.
You can slow down the video to 0.5x or 0.75x, or increase the speed to 1.25x or 1.5x. That way, you’ll be able to enjoy complex scenes better, especially when Netflix is playing on a phone or tablet, or accelerate playback while you’re on consuming content so you can finish the episode before work.
It’s unclear when the playback speed feature will be available to all users, but if it graduates from testing, it should find its way to iPhone and other versions of Netflix. While the company often tests new features, and they’re never guaranteed additions to future versions of its streaming apps, playback speed seems certainly like something Netflix can and should deliver to most devices and the web. That’s because plenty of other apps do support different audio or video playback speeds, and many users would take advantage of it.
There’s no way to sign up for testing the new feature, other than enabling the option to be included in Netflix tests and hope that your account is selected for the playback speed experiment.
UPDATE: Netflix confirmed to BGR that it’s testing the feature:
We’re always experimenting with new ways to help members use Netflix. This test makes it possible to vary the speed at which people watch shows on their mobiles. As with any test, it may not become a permanent feature on Netflix.
