We got to see picture-in-picture mode in action last year, with the release of Android Oreo. While other apps supported it seamlessly, YouTube wasn’t one of them. The feature was locked behind a paywall and available only to YouTube Red subscribers. Some time ago, several non-YouTube Red users began noticing that they could now use YouTube in PiP mode. It was speculated that it was a soak test and would be implemented on a larger scale later. Today, XDA Developers noticed that PiP for YouTube is rolling out more widely.
Several XDA Developers writers based in the US reportedly could use PiP mode without a YouTube Red/Premium subscription. It is very likely that Google is rolling out the feature to a wider audience, albeit only in the US. However, not everyone might not get it just yet. To check if you’ve received the feature, head over to the Settings menu of the YouTube app, where you’ll find a toggle for enabling PiP mode, along with a guide on how to use it. After making sure that you’ve toggled picture-in-picture mode in both in the app and system settings, open up a video and tap on the home button to check if it works.
Related Steps to Enable macOS Sierra Picture in Picture Mode for YouTube Videos
Additionally, PiP mode will not work with a lot of videos on the streaming platform. The uploader has an option to disable it altogether, so you might not see it work on content such as music videos. Hopefully, we should see it make its way to all US-based users and an eventual global rollout. PiP mode makes little sense for any content other than music, as the size of the window is minuscule and you’d be hard-pressed to look at anything properly. Nonetheless, it is a good feature to have and we’re glad that it isn’t locked behind a paywall anymore. Do let us know in the comments below if you can use PiP mode with YouTube.
Source: XDA developers
