Google started testing the YouTube PiP (Picture in Picture) mode on iOS devices in June 2021. It is going to be almost a year of rigorous testing, still, the YouTube PiP feature is not activated for iPhones and iPads. In a recent development, YouTube’s picture-in-picture support rollout for iOS was tweeted announcing it to be coming in the coming days.
YouTube non-premium and premium subscribers were happy to read that the rollout was happening “in a matter of days”. But the happiness was short-lived with a clarification soon coming in. YouTube was quick to clarify that the picture-in-picture mode rollout was happening to iOS 15+ devices for YouTube TV and not YouTube. It informed further that the YouTube PiP feature is only available to Premium subscribers of the app on Android mobile phones.
Earlier Google had made it clear that the YouTube PiP feature would only be rolling out to users in the U.S region. However, users outside the US have reported the feature to be working. It appears that it will be made globally available. It was assumed that YouTube is preparing to activate the PiP mode on these devices soon for iOS devices for both non-premium and premium subscribers.
With the YouTube PiP (Picture in Picture) mode, the platform offers its users the option to watch videos in an external pop-up window. It helps iOS users to seamlessly run multiple applications and switch between them while watching a video.
ShiftDelete had earlier reported that ‘Picture-in-Picture on iOS suddenly disappeared in early April last year. The message “The feature you tried has been turned off” was displayed to the user. However, YouTube PiP continues to be active for iPhone and iPad users who had enrolled for beta testing.
There have been reports of YouTube moving the testing phase of PiP function longer than planned. It was done to enhance the user experience before an official launch. With a rollout happening for YouTube TV, it is expected that YouTibe will make an announcement in the near future about PiP mode being made available for iOS devices.
