How to Control the Playback Speed of Podcasts in the iOS 10 Podcasts App

Have you ever wanted to plow through the uninteresting parts of a podcast without missing something you might want to hear? Or how about listening a bit closer for something you did miss?

iOS 10’s much-maligned Podcasts app offers at least one feature that many users appreciate. It’s the ability to adjust the listening speed of a podcast. You can make the playback slower or faster, with just a few taps of your finger.

How to Change the Playback Speed of Podcasts in the iOS 10 Podcasts App

1.) Open the Podcasts app on your iOS device.

2.) Begin playing an episode of your favorite podcast as you normally do.

3.) Just to the left of the playback buttons, you’ll see a button labeled “1x.” We’ll be tapping that button to adjust the playback speed of the podcast.

4.) Tap the “1x” button to cycle through the playback speed options. The following options are available:

• 1x: This is the standard playback speed.
• 1.5x: This plays the podcast back at 1.5 times it’s usual speed. You’ll notice the voices on the podcast have sped up, but you can still easily understand what their saying.
• 2x: The podcast plays twice as fast as normal, and things get a little tougher to follow. This playback speed is handy for skipping through boring parts of a podcast. (Or when Gilbert Gottfried sings.)
• 0.5x: This slows playback speed to half-speed. This speed is good for slowing things down when you want to make sure you actually heard what you thought you heard. Or if you just like everyone to sound a little drunk.

As I previously mentioned, you’ll likely find yourself using the 1.5x playback the most, as it allows for speeding things up, but doesn’t make it much tougher to follow the conversation.

For more tips and tricks that can help you make better use of your Mac, iOS device, Apple Watch, or Apple TV, be sure to visit the “How To” section of our website.