YouTube Premium subscribers now have access to a new experimental feature: the ability to watch videos at 4x speed on iOS and Android.
This ultra-fast playback option, which is available until February 26th, was first spotted by Android Police and follows YouTube’s recent announcement that multiple experimental features can be tested at the same time.
Alongside 4x playback, YouTube is testing several other features:
- Shorts Smart Downloads (iOS only, until February 19th)
- Shorts Picture-in-Picture (iOS only, until February 19th)
- High-quality audio (256kbps sound) (iOS and Android, until February 22nd)
- Jump Ahead for Web (available on web browsers until February 5th)
The Jump Ahead feature, designed for desktop users, allows viewers to skip directly to the most relevant parts of a video with a single click. This feature could help users bypass lengthy intros or filler content, making video consumption more efficient.
For YouTube Premium users who already enjoy ad-free viewing, these features aim to further streamline the experience—whether by speeding up playback, improving audio quality, or making Shorts more accessible. While some may appreciate the convenience, others might question whether auto-downloading Shorts videos is truly necessary.
