YouTube Still Testing Picture-in-Picture on iOS With Premium Subscribers [Updated]

YouTube today extended its testing period for the iPhone's picture-in-picture feature by an additional two weeks.

YouTube Picture in Picture Feature
YouTube Premium subscribers now have access to picture-in-picture mode on iOS as an "experimental feature" until February 14, according to YouTube. The feature was originally set to be available until January 31, but the date has been pushed forward several times.

Picture-in-picture mode is available on iPhones running iOS 14 and later, and it allows videos to be watched while using other apps. When watching a video, users can tap the picture-in-picture button with two boxes and an arrow to move the video to a smaller window that floats over the Home Screen or other apps.

In a statement shared with MacRumors in June 2021, a Google spokesperson said YouTube planned to launch picture-in-picture for all iOS users in the United States, but no timeframe was provided for the rollout. We've reached out to Google for an update on the matter and we'll update this story if we receive any new information.

In the meantime, picture-in-picture on iOS remains exclusive to YouTube Premium subscribers. Priced at $11.99 per month in the U.S., YouTube Premium features ad-free videos, the ability to download videos, video playback when a device's screen is locked, and more.

Update: In a statement shared with MacRumors today, Google said it is "still planning to launch PiP for all users without a YouTube Premium subscription in the US," but it has no further updates to provide at this time.

We're still planning to launch PiP for all users without a YouTube Premium subscription in the US. We have no other updates to share at this time. In the meantime, we've also extended our experiment of PiP on youtube.com/new for our Premium users on iOS as we continue to test and improve the experience before launch.

(Thanks, IceCool Tech!)

Tag: YouTube

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
New MacBook Pros Launching Tomorrow With These 4 New Features 2

M5 MacBook Models to Use New Compact Camera Module in 2025

Wednesday July 17, 2024 2:58 am PDT by
Apple in 2025 will take on a new compact camera module (CCM) supplier for future MacBook models powered by its next-generation M5 chip, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Writing in his latest investor note on unny-opticals-2025-business-momentum-to-benefit-509819818c2a">Medium, Kuo said Apple will turn to Sunny Optical for the CCM in its M5 MacBooks. The Chinese optical lens company...

Top Rated Comments

jooish Avatar
32 months ago
Does it get any scummier than removing a free feature to charge users for it?
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Think|Different Avatar
32 months ago
Just give it to everyone. Sheesh, it is downright silly to gate this of all things. And a few months ago I did a Premium trial and was unsurprisingly disappointed to find out you couldn't even do PIP on my iPad Pro with Premium at the time – all the documentation was just for iOS for a reason. Absolutely nonsense – it's 100% about the ad consumption experience.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FSMBP Avatar
32 months ago
A little crazy that on my 2012 MacBook Pro, I can do PIP with Safari in YouTube.

But, somehow in 2022, this is turning into a paid-feature on iOS.

Sounds like we're going backwards
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MikeCam Avatar
32 months ago
'Testing' lol
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rudy69 Avatar
32 months ago
Get Vinegar, it will force YouTube to use the built in media player....which of course supports PiP just fine
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dwalls90 Avatar
32 months ago

It’s not for Apple to challenge them.
To each their own opinion, but an app developer impairing an iOS user's experience by gatekeeping a core OS feature behind a subscription seems like something Apple would be interested in going after.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)