Some people speak faster than others. Some listen faster than others. If this gap gets on your nerves, especially when listening to a voicemail message someone left for you in WhatsApp, you might want to switch to the beta channel. The option to increase playback speed (as can be seen in some podcast managers) is now available for beta users.
The updated functionality has been spotted and recorded by several different users and confirmed by third parties, using a build of the app grabbed from the standard beta channel of the Play Store. To enable variable playback, tap the “1.0x” label next to the progress bar in an active voicemail message. 1.0x, 1.5x, and 2.0x read speeds are available which is less granular than what we usually see for this kind of feature – but hey, that’s why it’s a beta. . There is also no option to slow down the reading, which I know some people with hearing loss would appreciate.
The variable playback speed feature seems to roll out slowly for users; two different Android Police testers were unable to access it even using the latest version (2.21.9.4), released yesterday. It was visible to at least a few people over a month ago, so it’s a pretty slow rollout. This indicates a server side change (signaling support whines), so don’t be surprised if you don’t see the option immediately. Hopefully, it will make its way to the general version before too long.
Other changes in the latest beta include the enlargement of image and video previews, as well as the option to disappear messages, available by default to all users in group chats.
–
