YouTube has started rolling out the much-anticipated Picture-in-Picture mode for all YouTube Premium subscribers on iOS worldwide including India, the company confirmed to Gadgets 360. As a result of the update, iPhone users will now be able to watch YouTube videos in a mini player while using other apps. Google initially announced Picture-in-Picture (aka PiP) support for YouTube users on iOS in June this year. It debuted for users in the US. YouTube also earlier this week started inviting its Premium subscribers to test the feature ahead of its formal rollout.
A YouTube spokesperson confirmed to Gadgets 360 that it has started rolling out Picture-in-Picture for all YouTube Premium subscribers on iOS globally.
“Picture-in-Picture (PiP) allows users to watch YouTube videos in a small mini player while simultaneously browsing outside of the YouTube app on their mobile device. We’re starting to roll out PiP for YouTube Premium members on iOS,” the spokesperson said.
While the new experience is gradually rolling out to iOS users worldwide, 9to5Google spotted that Google started testing the feature among Premium subscribers. Gadgets 360 was able to independently verify that the testing is currently live for YouTube Premium users in India — alongside their global counterparts.
How to use YouTube Picture-in-Picture on iOS
Below are the steps defining how you can use YouTube Picture-in-Picture on iOS. But before going ahead, it is important to note that you currently need to sign up for the testing of the Picture-in-Picture mode on YouTube for iOS by heading to the YouTube’s experimental features site (www.youtube.com/new) from your Web browser and clicking on the Try it out button available under the ‘Picture-in-picture on iOS’ listing. Make sure that you are visiting the site after signing in with your YouTube Premium account.
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Once signed up for testing, open the YouTube app and click on any of your favourite videos.
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Now, swipe up or press the home button on your iPhone to watch the video in Picture-in-Picture mode.
It is worth noting here that in some cases, you may need to re-install the YouTube app on your iPhone to get the PiP mode. You should also have the latest YouTube version installed to get the new experience.
The testing round for Picture-in-Picture on YouTube for iOS is available until October 31. However, since YouTube has confirmed its global rollout, it is likely that a large number of users would get the new feature before the testing ends.
On Android, YouTube has Picture-in-Picture mode available for quite some time. Android users in the US running Android Oreo or greater, who don’t have a paid subscription, also received an ad-supported version of PiP playback back in 2018.
However, on iOS, the Picture-in-Picture mode was not available since the beginning, though it started being tested with some iPhone and iPad users in the US last year as well as earlier this year. Users on iOS were also able to access PiP playback on YouTube by using Safari browser up until now.