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 phone. Pretty cool for fellow multitaskers!
Although iOS 14 introduced Picture-in-Picture for many apps, it wasn’t possible for YouTube. Now PiP is finally available but only to YouTube Premium subscribers as an experimental feature. As of writing, the feature will be available until 31 October 2021, so hurry up and try it soon!
I’ll keep you updated about what happens after that. For now, let’s check out this cool new Picture-in-Picture mode on Youtube in iOS.
- How to enable Picture-in-Picture Mode on the iOS YouTube app
- How to play YouTube Picture-in-Picture in a browser on iPhone
- Control YouTube PiP window on iPhone
How to enable Picture-in-Picture Mode on the iOS YouTube app
- Open any browser like Safari or Google Chrome.
- Go to www.youtube.com/new and sign in to your account, if not already.
Note: You must have YouTube Premium. (Screenshot 1) - Scroll down, and under Picture-in-Picture, tap Try It Out.
- Now, open the YouTube app and play any video.
- To activate PiP mode, press the Home button or swipe up to navigate away from the app.
- The video will continue playing in a smaller window, and you can use other apps simultaneously.
Note: This feature doesn’t work in the YouTube app on iPad.
How to play YouTube Picture-in-Picture in a browser on iPhone
If you’re subscribed to YouTube Premium, you can also play videos in Picture-in-Picture from a browser. Moreover, unlike the app, the PiP mode functions seamlessly on the iPad too. Here’s how to enable it:
- Open any browser and visit YouTube.com.
- Play any video.
- Tap the full–screen icon to play the video on full screen.
Note: PiP will not work on the browser if the video is not playing in full-screen mode. - Tap the PiP icon at the screen’s top.
- Alternatively, simply navigate away from the browser.
Control YouTube PiP window on iPhone
Once you enter PiP mode from either the YouTube app or a browser, you can control it in the following ways:
- Adjust the YouTube PiP window by double-tapping it.
- Access all the controls like pause, rewind, forward, etc., by tapping once.
- To exit PiP mode on YouTube, tap the X icon at the top right of the PiP window.
Further, you can also make a YouTube video play in the background as audio by dragging the PiP window all the way to the right or left edge of your screen. You can then control it from the Lock Screen or Control Center.
Note: Picture-in-Picture videos will pause playing if you lock your phone. But you can resume listening to the audio via the Lock Screen media controls. If you play a video in the background as audio, it will continue playing even if you lock your iPhone screen.
That’s it! Now you know how to watch YouTube Picture-in-Picture mode in iOS. Bear in mind that this is currently an experimental feature available for a limited time to YouTube Premium users only. Watch this space to stay updated about what comes next.
Read more:
- How to use Picture in Picture mode in iOS 14 on iPhone
- How to use YouTube Shorts on iPhone (Explained with images)
- Turn on or off YouTube notifications on iPhone and iPad
- How to view your liked videos on YouTube
Mehak has a master’s degree in communication and over ten years of writing experience. Her passion for technology and Apple products led her to iGeeksBlog, where she specializes in writing product roundups and app recommendations for fellow Apple users. When not typing away on her MacBook Pro, she loves being lost in a book or out exploring the world.