YouTube said Wednesday that the picture-in-picture mode for YouTube TV will be available on iOS devices running iOS 15 or newer. The feature was promised on The Vergecast by YouTube chief product officer Neal Mohan, and it’s now here.
When you use picture-in-picture, you’ll be able to continue viewing YouTube TV even if you leave the YouTube TV app. If you’re watching a sporting event and want to see what others are saying about what’s going on on the field, the function might come in useful. It’s a feature that’s been available on Android for a long time, so it’s exciting to see Google finally bring it to Apple’s iOS devices.
Youtube TV’s PiP Feature Will Now Be Available For iOS 15 And Up
However, we’re still waiting for Google to make picture-in-picture available to all users of the basic YouTube app on iOS, regardless of whether or not they have a YouTube Premium membership. If you have a Premium membership, that function is now in testing, and YouTube’s Lab’s website says you may try it out until April 8th.
Google told MacRumors in February that it’s “still aiming to introduce PiP for all users in the US who don’t have a YouTube Premium membership,” but that “we have no additional developments to disclose at this time.” Google spokesperson Allison Toh revealed on Wednesday that the firm is “still testing picture-in-picture on iOS with Premium members” and hopes to make it accessible to all iOS users in the US (Premium and non-Premium) in the coming months. Google recognized that the upgrade was long overdue.
To put the wait in perspective, picture-in-picture capability has been available on the iPad since iOS 13 and on the iPhone since iOS 14. Furthermore, the functionality has been available since last year through the company’s primary YouTube app.