Controlling Playback Speed of Audio Messages in WhatsApp and Telegram

Last updated on 23 September 2023

The convenience of sending audio messages cannot be ignored. However, sometimes, receiving voice messages can become overwhelming, especially when you need to deal with a lot of them or listen to long voice messages that take up your time.
Messaging apps tend to tackle this problem by offering the ability to increase the rate of voice message playback. Let’s see how to use the audio playback rate control in WhatsApp and Telegram.

Telegram:

Telegram offers a versatile playback rate control, ranging from 0.2x to 2.5x. This range allows users to either decelerate or accelerate audio playback.

1. On the upper part of the screen, just beneath the status bar elements, you will locate the playback controls. To the right of the pause button, there is a button labeled “2X playback.” By tapping this button, you can toggle between 1.5x, 2X, and the standard playback speeds.
2. To access even more precise rate control, perform a long press on the “2X playback speed” button. a new window will appear, presenting you with several options. These choices span from “slow,” which corresponds to 0.5x speed, to “super fast,” which sets the rate to 2X.
3. You’ll also find a slider that you can move to set the speed between 0.2X and 2.5X. Unfortunately, this slider cannot be controlled using Jieshuo or TalkBack’s slider movement mechanisms. To change the slider value, perform a long press on it and, without lifting your finger off the screen, move left to decrease and right to increase. While you move your finger, the values won’t be announced by the screen reader. However, you can know the new value by refocusing on the slider because the current rate is spoken. For instance, the slider might read “2.5X Choose Speed.” When attempting to set your desired rate, it’s advisable to move your finger slowly.
4. Once you’ve set the desired speed, go back to close the speech rate control window. When tapping any of the preset speeds, the window will be closed.

Note that if the voice message is playing while you are moving the slider, the speed will change in real-time as your finger moves on the screen, providing you an indication of the changing speed.

WhatsApp:

Although WhatsApp enables the speeding of audio messages, it doesn’t have the same level of control available in Telegram. You can’t slow down the speed, and there are only two speeds to select from. To change the rate of the playback, follow these steps: When you play an audio message, you’ll find beside the “pause button” and seek slider a button that moves you between 1.5X, 2X, and normal speed. The button changes according to the current speech rate. It’s better to pause the voice message before finding and changing the speed because it can sometimes be challenging to locate the button, especially when another voice message plays and the focus is lost. Unlike in Telegram, the playback controls in WhatsApp are not at the top of the screen; they are rather located where the voice message is on the screen.

Notes:

• In both Telegram and Whatsapp, the speech rate change is preserved when playing other voice messages until the user decides to change it again.
• Controlling the playback rate is available for both voice and other audio messages in the 2 apps. However, in Telegram, with some music files, changing the speed will not be possible.
• In Telegram, you also have the ability to change the video playback speed. To do this while you are in the video playback screen, tap on “more options” and then select “speed.” In this menu, you can adjust the playback speed using the slider or choose from the available preset speeds. The “speed” button will always reflect the current playback speed.