Some people speak faster than others. Some listen faster than others. If the discrepancy gets on your nerves, specifically when you're listening to a voice message someone left you in WhatsApp, you might want to hop on the beta channel. The option to increase playback speed (as seen in some podcast managers) is now rolling out to beta users.
The updated feature was spotted and recorded by several different users and confirmed by third parties, using a build of the app retrieved from the standard Play Store beta channel. To activate variable playback, tap the "1.0x" label next to the progress bar in an active voice message. 1.0x, 1.5x, and 2.0x playback speeds are available, which is less granularity than we usually see for this type of feature — but hey, that's why it's a beta. There's also no option to slow down playback, which I know some people with hearing difficulty would appreciate.
