Last year, Netflix announced that it began testing a feature that was much requested by customers that would allow Android users to vary the playback speed of their content. Just like the youtube app viewers can slow down their content to 0.5x or 0.75x, or speed it up to 1.25x or 1.5x.
This decision came with a lot of backlash from industry experts and numerous filmmakers such as and Brad Bird said and Judd Apato saying they were not in favor of the option. Despite all of that Netflix moved ahead with the test — and now announced that it is rolling the feature out for all Android users.
According to The Verge, Android app users can now access the feature, which is also available for downloaded titles saved for offline viewing. The final speeds offered are the same as the test: Down to half speed or up to 1.5 speed. Those mid-season episodes of Iron Fist will just fly by now!
Netflix gave a statement on the news to The Verge as well, saying that they’ve tailored the feature to some of the “concerns” voiced previously by creators:
"We’ve also been mindful of the concerns of some creators. It’s why we have capped the range of playback speeds and require members to vary the speed each time they watch something new — versus fixing their settings based on the last speed they used."
Netflix is planning to keep an eye on the response to the new feature from both the creative community and subscribers. The company also announced that they are set to begin testing on iOS devices and the web version of the app. For now, there’s no testing set for Netflix’s TV app.