The Netflix streaming interface allows you to pause a film or show, change the audio or subtitles, and jump forward or backward ten seconds in either direction. It does not allow you to change the speed you’re watching the show at, but that is reportedly something that could be available in the near future.

According to Android Police, some Android Netflix users now have a variable speed function added to their app. Those who are part of this smaller test have the option to watch content at either a slower speed, or a faster speed:

The sparsity of the reports and the fact that we don't have the option yet on any device indicate this may be a limited server-side test. If you have it, you'll get the option to slow down speed to 0.5x or 0.75x, or raise it to 1.25x or 1.5x.

As noted, this is a feature available in many podcast players, and some listeners like to be afforded the opportunity to breeze through a podcast at a slightly quicker pace. Conceivably, you could do the same thing with a film or TV show if given the opportunity — and some DVD and Blu-ray players have had this feature for many years.

Still, I can’t imagine most Netflix creators being too excited about the idea of their carefully conceived film being breezed through 50 percent faster than it’s supposed to be. On the other hand, if you make something for Netflix I guess you have to reconcile yourself with the fact that a hefty percentage of people are going to be watching your creation out of the corner of their eye while playing Pokemon Go anyway. Perhaps for those who’ve come to grips with that already, this is not such a hard pill to swallow. Personally, if Netflix expands this feature wider, I would love to know how many users implemented it at some point during the 209 minutes of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman.

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