YouTube testing gesture that lets you quickly 2x playback speed

Abner Li | Jul 17 2023 - 10:08 am PT

Boosting playback speed is a common occurrence with most YouTube content these days, especially with podcasts, and Google is making it easier to 2x videos with a new gesture.

Currently, on mobile, adjusting Playback speed requires tapping the video window to show controls and pressing the settings gear in the top-right corner. After finding the menu toward the bottom, you select your speed. In all, it’s a four-step/tap process.

YouTube is now testing a “Long press to watch at 2x” capability. You simply “long press anywhere on the player while watching a video to automatically bump the playback speed to 2x.”

You’ll get a “Playing at 2x speed” message at the top of the window. On the web, letting go of your mouse/trackpad will pause the video. The video continues playing when you lift your finger on Android and iOS, with the gesture more natural on mobile.

This feature is currently available for YouTube Premium subscribers to test until August 13 (if it doesn’t get renewed). You can enable it here. YouTube is also testing a Lock Screen so that “accidental taps do not pause, skip or disrupt the video.” You can only test one capability at a time.