iOS and iPadOS users have a reason to rejoice since YouTube has announced the Picture-in-Picture mode for iPads and iPhones. As per a report by MacRumors, the Google-owned platform, which is the largest and most popular video platform in the world, has finally decided to roll out the feature for Apple users, after years and years of waiting. For Android (which too, runs on the software by Google) users, the feature had already been available since August 21, 2017, making life a lot easier, for people who have been using Android Oreo and higher.
Now, Use YouTube Even as You Work on Other Apps
For the unversed, the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode will allow the YouTube video you are watching, to appear as a small, pop-up window of sorts on your screen, even if you close the app to open another. This means that now Apple users can enjoy their favourite video, even as they use their phones for something else, like working, reading, or even chatting with someone.
But here’s the catch. YouTube has announced the Picture-in-Picture mode only for those iPhone and iPad users who currently have a YouTube Premium subscription, for now. The same had happened to Android users at first as well, with non-Premium users gradually getting access. But if you are willing to wait a tad bit longer, then the company is planning to make the service available on a global scale to all Apple users (with the subscription or without) quite soon. Another thing to be noted is that for people using Android, the service had initially been introduced in the US, and other countries gained access to the same only a little while later.
How it Works
The PiP video will keep rolling in the form of a mini-player, even if users continue to browse their systems and use other apps. So, in case they are watching a video, they won’t have to turn it off if they need to do some work, and will be able to enjoy YouTube even while using other applications.
Activating the Picture-in-Picture mode is quite easy too, as all you have to do is to play a video on the platform, and then swipe to go to Home. If done correctly, the video will continue playing as mini-player, without any interruption.
The default location of the mini-player will be the bottom of the screen, but users can shift it by dragging and dropping to any location they prefer. Additionally, resizing is also an option, and is done easily and quickly, just by pinching using two fingers, much like photos are resized.
It may be worth mentioning that while iOS has most of its apps as strong competitors to those available on Android, YouTube (and Google by extension) remains the most widely used for browsing the internet, especially for videos. And now that YouTube has announced the Picture-in-Picture mode, the utility of the app is most likely all set to increase.
