YouTube TV subscribers with an iPhone or iPad can now watch shows in a small window while another app is open. The feature is rolling out now.
However, picture-in-picture support is not yet available for all mobile users of the YouTube application, as has been promised.
YouTube TV in a miniplayer now for iPhone and iPad
PiP makes videos easier to enjoy because people can use their iPhone or iPad to multitask while also watching. It’s a feature long since available on many rival applications, including Apple TV.
On Wednesday, YouTube TV announced via Twitter that, “iPhone & iPad users, we’re happy to share that picture-in-picture is now rolling out to your iOS 15+ devices.”
YouTube TV lets subscribers access live TV channels without a cable subscription. It offers more than 85 channels in most markets throughout the U.S., as well as on-demand video and cloud recordings.
A quick set of instructions is also included in the tweet for using PiP on Apple mobile devices . “Simply select a video to watch and swipe ⬆️ from the bottom of the screen to return to the device’s homepage,” said YouTube TV. “The video can scale down and move across your screen.”
iPhone & iPad users
We’re happy to share that picture-in-picture is now rolling out to your iOS 15+ devices. Simply select a video to watch and swipe ⬆️ from the bottom of the screen to return to the device's homepage. The video can scale down and move across your screen.
— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) March 30, 2022
Not yet for all YouTube users
This change is good news for YouTube TV subscribers. And YouTube Premium subscribers can already take advantage of the service’s support for PiP on iPhone and iPad as part of beta testing.
But other iPhone and iPad users of the YouTube application are left waiting the the streaming service to fulfill a promise made in June 2021. It said then that, “We’re starting to roll out PiP for YouTube Premium members on iOS and plan to launch PiP for all US iOS users as well.”
It might carry through with the promise on April 8… if beta testing isn’t extended yet again.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
