YouTube Shorts now play at double speed with one tap

YouTube Shorts now plays at double speed. Of the four changes YouTube began rolling out on June 25, this is the one viewers actually asked for—the company says speed ranked among the most requested Shorts features.

It works the way long-form viewers already expect. Tap and hold on a Short, then drag down to lock 2x for the rest of the clip. The payoff shows up most on Shorts that creep toward the three-minute mark, where you can blow past the slow bits or jump to the part that matters.