YouTube TV on iOS devices now has picture-in-picture mode (PiP).
The streaming television service of Google's video-sharing platform recently announced that it is rolling out PiP for YouTube TV for iOS devices running iOS 15 or newer, per YouTube TV's official Twitter page.
The long-overdue feature was previously promised in early February by YouTube chief product officer Neal Mohan, per The Verge.
YouTube TV Picture-in-Picture Details
According to The Verge, YouTube TV's PiP allows people to keep watching YouTube TV when navigating away from the app, a welcome convenience. This is especially useful when someone wants to watch the news shows in the background while working. People can also use the feature to read live reactions to a sports game on a different app while the game continues to play in the background.
To use the feature, YouTube said to swipe up from the bottom of the screen to close the app. Doing so will cause YouTube TV to resize itself into a mini-player to continue playing the TV show currently being watched there.
YouTube TV's Official Twitter page further added that it appreciates people's patience while it worked on enabling the feature for iOS 15+ devices.
While there are people who have been reporting to YouTube TV's Official Twitter page that the feature has not arrived on their devices, the company reminded people that it is slowly rolling the feature out. It also suggested checking the app at a later time to see if it is available on their devices.
Picture-in-Picture for YouTube App
YouTube TV is not the only app with a new feature. The company is currently testing PiP mode on its regular YouTube app, per YouTube's Labs page. However, it is only available until April 8 for those with iOS devices and a YouTube Premium subscription.
A MacRumors report said that Google is still planning to roll out PiP for all users without a YouTube Premium subscription in the US. However, the company has no updates to share regarding the planning at that time.
There is still hope, however. Google spokesperson Allison Toh told The Verge that the company hopes to make PiP mode available to all iOS users in the US regardless of subscription in the coming months.
Picture-in-Picture Alternatives To Try
People waiting for the PiP mode to roll out could use other apps as a workaround until the feature arrives. A good example of this is using the Shortcuts app.
To use Shortcuts as a workaround, go to Shortcuts Gallery's website and download the app. Then, open the app, scroll down, and tap on "Add Untrusted Shortcut" to install it.
Next, install the Scriptable third-party app for the shortcut to work. Afterward, launch Safari and open the YouTube video to watch in PiP, which can be achieved through tapping the share icon and selecting "YouTube PiP."
The last step involves tapping "OK" on a small pop-up at the top of the screen notifying people that YouTube PiP is trying to access Scriptable. Doing so will enable PiP mode. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen or press the Home button to continue to watch the video on PiP mode instead of tapping close.
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