YouTube has again extended the timeframe for its Picture-in-Picture (PiP) testing.
According to a new report from 9to5Google, YouTube has again extended its Picture-in-Picture test on iPhone and iPad, which was originally supposed to end last October.
Now, after multiple extensions, the test is now scheduled to conclude on March 14, which basically means users still cannot enjoy the feature without a YouTube Premium subscription until then.
Some might accuse Google of extending the test again and again just to gain as many Premium subscribers as possible. And it’s hard to argue against that, given that Picture in Picture seems perfectly stable on iPhone and iPad.
Here’s to hoping YouTube finally deems it worthy of a wider release next month. In the meantime, if you do have YouTube Premium, you can activate Picture-in-Picture for iOS and iPadOS via the YouTube Labs website.
Anyone who has yet to try YouTube PiP on an iPhone or iPad can head to youtube.com/new to flick the required switch:
How to use: While you are watching a video, swipe up (or press home) to close the app and watch in a miniplayer.
Note:
- Locking the screen while watching in PiP will pause the video. You can resume the video using the lock screen media controls.
- When you’re trying this feature for the first time, it may not work properly for the first hour. If PiP doesn’t work after the first hour, try uninstalling and reinstalling the YouTube app.
Meanwhile, YouTube is also testing the ability to “Read comments while watching videos on desktop.” This redesigns the UI under the player so that there’s a Comments box — next to channel information — that, when tapped, opens a scrollable list of user feedback right next to the video window.
