YouTube On iOS PiP Makes It Much Easier To Watch Videos While Multitasking

YouTube is now rolling out the ability for all users to watch videos with picture-in-picture mode, which reduces the video players to a small floating screen on one's phone or tablet. This feature won't be limited to only premium customers as some had previously speculated, though those premium customers will get access to the PiP support first.

Android users have had access to YouTube's picture-in-picture mode for a while; it has become increasingly useful as devices get larger, higher-resolution displays, leaving ample room for using more than one app at a time. With PiP, someone can watch a video in a small corner of their device's display while doing something else, such as browsing social media, messaging, or playing games.

There have been concerns over recent months that YouTube wouldn't only make its picture-in-picture mode available to paying Premium subscribers on iOS, but that's not the case, according to confirmation given to MacRumors.

The feature is now rolling out to all iOS users in the United States, with Premium customers getting it first followed by free users 'soon.' Some iOS users have already had access to the YouTube picture-in-picture feature, though its availability has been touch and go with it working only sometimes.

The official support will eliminate the need to deal with difficult workarounds and buggy Safari streaming, though you may need to remain patient if you're not a Premium user. The feature will be most useful on larger iPhone models where there's enough screen space to watch a video in the mini player and engage in a second activity.