Netflix testing playback speed, brightness control on mobile app

Netflix regularly tests new features on Android and iOS. These features don't necessarily make it to the stable version of the app. Nevertheless, it's always interesting to see a new feature on the app. Netflix is now testing brightness control and playback speed.

Android users on Netflix have started seeing the brightness control tool on the app. One of the biggest complaints Netflix users have is how dark the screen gets and turning up the phone's brightness doesn't make any difference. Shows like 'Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' especially season 2 which was literally very dark.

Netflix's in-app brightness control bar appears on the side of the screen whenever you start watching a TV show or movie. You can simply swipe up or down according to your requirement. This brightness control tool is independent of your phone's brightness and it won't affect outside of Netflix. While the brightness tool seems very effective it could get annoying as it remains constant on the screen. For phones with small screens this could be an issue.

Netflix is also testing playback speed with four options to go slower or faster. Netflix users can watch shows in slower speeds by 0.5X or 0.75X. The playback speed can also go faster by 1.25X or 1.5X on Netflix. The company says that this feature has been frequently requested by users making it a possibility of actually coming to the stable version.

Netflix's latest features are being tested only on mobile. As with every test carried out on Netflix, the company says it has no plans of rolling them out "in the short term". Netflix will also decide on rolling out these features according to the feedback they receive.