YouTube Premium has rolled out a suite of experimental features for its subscribers, including the highly anticipated 4x speed playback option, as well as Jump Ahead, Shorts Smart Downloads, and High Quality Audio. These features are currently available for testing, with some OS and time restrictions applying to each.

The 4x speed playback feature, which allows users to watch videos at an accelerated pace, is particularly noteworthy. While some users may find this feature useful for skipping through unnecessary content, others may find it too fast for comfortable viewing. As the author of this article notes, they personally prefer a 1.5x to 2x speed for YouTube videos and podcasts, but the 4x option is certainly an interesting addition.

Another notable feature is Jump Ahead, which provides web users with a button to automatically skip to the most relevant parts of a video. This feature is likely to be popular among users who want to get straight to the point without having to scrub through lengthy introductions or unnecessary content. As the article notes, this feature may be particularly useful for skipping past intros and other "bloat" in videos.

In addition to these features, YouTube Premium subscribers can also test out Shorts Smart Downloads, which allows for automatic downloads of Shorts videos on iOS devices, and High Quality Audio, which provides 256kbps sound quality on both iOS and Android devices. These features are available until February 19th and February 22nd, respectively.

It's worth noting that these experimental features are only available to YouTube Premium subscribers, who already enjoy ad-free viewing and other perks. The addition of these features may further enhance the value proposition for Premium subscribers, particularly those who are looking for ways to streamline their video viewing experience.

The rollout of these features is likely to be of interest to content creators and users alike, as it may change the way people consume video content on the platform. As YouTube continues to evolve and experiment with new features, it will be interesting to see how these changes impact the user experience and the broader online video landscape.

For more information on these features and other YouTube news, be sure to check out our related coverage, including our recent Vergecast episode, which discussed the implications of YouTube's new features.