Here’s some exciting news for anyone who’s addicted to YouTube as much as I am. You can now turn on YouTube Picture-in-picture (PiP) mode on your iPhone! This means you can continue watching videos in a smaller window while browsing other apps on your iPhone. Here’s our step-by-step guide on how to enable and use YouTube Picture-in-picture mode on your iPhone.
Things to know before enabling YouTube PiP on iPhone and iPad
- In the US: All users can enjoy picture-in-picture (PiP) for non-music videos on YouTube. To use PiP for music videos, users need YouTube Premium.
- Outside the US: Users must get YouTube Premium to use picture-in-picture for music and non-music videos.
How to enable YouTube Picture-in-picture on iPhone and iPad
To use YouTube’s PiP feature, you need to first allow your iPhone to use PiP automatically for apps that support it. After that, you need to go to the app, and make sure the app’s built-in option is enabled as well.
- Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Go to General → Select Picture in Picture.
- Toggle on Start PiP Automatically.
- Now, launch the YouTube app.
- Access your profile.
- Tap the Settings icon from the top-right corner.
- Choose General → Enable Picture-in-picture.
- Now, once you play a YouTube video, you can either switch apps or return to your Home Screen to use PiP. The video will play in the background!
Note: Do not close YouTube on your iPhone or iPad.
Control PiP window on iPhone
Once the YouTube video has entered PiP mode, there’s a set of actions you can perform. I have outlined them below.
- Change position: You can drag the PiP overlay and place it in any corner of your iPhone screen.
- Hide video: When PiP is playing, simply drag the mini-screen to the left or right border of your screen to hide the visuals. The audio will continue to play in the background.
- To minimize or expand PiP, simply double-tap it. You can further pinch-in/pinch-out to resize the PiP window.
- To view the playback controls, tap the PiP overlay. You will see Play/Pause, forward, and backward buttons.
- To exit the video, tap the PiP window and select the “X” button.
- To return to the app, tap the expand button on the PiP player controls.
Work while you watch!
That’s it! Now you know how to watch YouTube Picture-in-picture mode in iOS. Bear in mind that this feature is currently limited to certain videos in the US and for YouTube Premium users only. Watch this space to stay updated on what comes next.
Read more:
