The official YouTube app will provide one of the better experiences...
Ha ha ha ha... the author must be dreaming or hasn't tried many other apps. NewPipe lets you run videos at custom speed, and optionally pitch-shift videos. And you can save videos to watch on any app capable of playing video files stored on disk.
Agreed... The second half of this "article" reads like an ad/puff piece.
A better researched article would go into the difference between API access, scrapers, and modifying the YouTube app, and question which of those YouTube will be able to detect. Maybe even discuss using region-pricing with a VPN to get YouTube premium for cheaper.