YouTube is currently testing a "picture in picture" feature for iOS users, allowing them to browse other applications while still watching their content, as first reported by 9to5G.
Picture in picture (PiP), for those unfamiliar, is a feature that allows users to leave the main YouTube app without stopping or pausing the video currently being watched. The video at hand ends up being decreased in size, operating as a separate screen (or a mini player) within one's mobile phone. From there, this tiny screen can be moved around, paused, and played to one's content. It's a feature that some Android users are perhaps very familiar with, since it's been around for a while. iOS users, however, are only now getting introduced to the concept.
The addition of PiP to the iOS interface comes with a few notable caveats. First and foremost, testing is only available to all iPhone and iPad users with YouTube Premium accounts. Secondly, the feature is only online right now as a form of beta testing, and will soon be taken down again. It seems that YouTube's looking to judge how the interface looks, eliminate any bugs, while also gauging the overall community's reaction to the feature. Which, if we're going to try our hand at predictive journalism, can only be good. Many often complain that YouTube doesn't allow for the playing of videos and music in the background as other tasks are pursued on their phones. The ability to activate PiP allows for a lot of flexibility in that regard.
As of yet, the PiP testing is limited to iPhones. Therefore, iPad users will be left out in the rain, despite having iOS. It doesn't really matter, since once the feature is implemented properly, iPads will be experiencing it in full. The beta trials are ongoing until the 31st of October, 2021, so there's quite a lot of time to sign up. That would, however, require purchasing a YouTube Premium account: a notion not particularly endearing to many across the community.
The interesting part is that this will not even be the first time iPhone users are truly experiencing PiP. Across the year 2020, YouTube and its devs had quite a knack for turning the feature on and off again, with no particular train of thought dictating the reasons as to why. However, what makes this particular announcement so special is that its expected to be a more long lasting situation. Instead of all users being frustrated with the feature coming and going, a certain echelon of the community (Premium users) will be able to use it unabated.
Read next: Google Is Adding Two Step Authentication To A Certain Number Of Popular YouTube Content Creators
Picture in picture (PiP), for those unfamiliar, is a feature that allows users to leave the main YouTube app without stopping or pausing the video currently being watched. The video at hand ends up being decreased in size, operating as a separate screen (or a mini player) within one's mobile phone. From there, this tiny screen can be moved around, paused, and played to one's content. It's a feature that some Android users are perhaps very familiar with, since it's been around for a while. iOS users, however, are only now getting introduced to the concept.
The addition of PiP to the iOS interface comes with a few notable caveats. First and foremost, testing is only available to all iPhone and iPad users with YouTube Premium accounts. Secondly, the feature is only online right now as a form of beta testing, and will soon be taken down again. It seems that YouTube's looking to judge how the interface looks, eliminate any bugs, while also gauging the overall community's reaction to the feature. Which, if we're going to try our hand at predictive journalism, can only be good. Many often complain that YouTube doesn't allow for the playing of videos and music in the background as other tasks are pursued on their phones. The ability to activate PiP allows for a lot of flexibility in that regard.
As of yet, the PiP testing is limited to iPhones. Therefore, iPad users will be left out in the rain, despite having iOS. It doesn't really matter, since once the feature is implemented properly, iPads will be experiencing it in full. The beta trials are ongoing until the 31st of October, 2021, so there's quite a lot of time to sign up. That would, however, require purchasing a YouTube Premium account: a notion not particularly endearing to many across the community.
The interesting part is that this will not even be the first time iPhone users are truly experiencing PiP. Across the year 2020, YouTube and its devs had quite a knack for turning the feature on and off again, with no particular train of thought dictating the reasons as to why. However, what makes this particular announcement so special is that its expected to be a more long lasting situation. Instead of all users being frustrated with the feature coming and going, a certain echelon of the community (Premium users) will be able to use it unabated.
Read next: Google Is Adding Two Step Authentication To A Certain Number Of Popular YouTube Content Creators
