YouTube Begins to Widely Roll Out Picture-in-Picture Support for iOS in the U.S.

YouTube has begun to finally roll out its wider support for Picture-in-Picture (PiP) for iPhone and iPad. However, as of the time of writing, this latest expansion of the feature is only available in the U.S. Though, Canadian support may come down the line.

PiP has been a work in progress for YouTube over the years. At first, the ability to watch a YouTube video while the user has left the app was designed as a YouTube Premium feature. In June 2021, the premium PiP feature was finally launched in the U.S. However, over the last few months, YouTube began to be more open about its availability.

According to 9to5Google, YouTube’s PiP is now rolling out on a much wider scale to iPhones and iPads across the U.S. Once enabled, users may choose a YouTube video to watch. Scrolling from the bottom of the screen will close the app but keep continue the video in a mini player on-screen. Users can then navigate to other apps like Mail, Messages, and Twitter.

Access to this feature will reportedly come “over the next several days” to non-Premium members. Users will ensure the devices are running iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 or higher. It’s also important to note that for non-Premium users, PiP is designated to be used on non-music content. Advertisements will continue to play.

However, for YouTube Premium members around the world, access to PiP enables users to watch both music content and non-music content outside of the app.

To turn on the feature, users must go to Settings and then General in your YouTube app. There will be the option to turn on Picture-in-picture. If PiP is not turned on, users may still use background play by default. YouTube Premium members running Android already have this feature and will continue to.

“We recognize this has been a slow roll out for a highly requested feature, and want to thank everyone who shared feedback during experiments,” YouTube states. Hopefully, PiP becomes available to non-Premium users in Canada sooner than later.