Picture-in-picture is one of iOS's most useful features, but to use it with the YouTube app, there are a few hoops users need to jump through. Introduced in 2020 with the iOS 14 update, picture-in-picture (also referred to as PiP) allows someone to start watching a video, swipe up to go home, and have that video keep playing in a small window. Users can resize the window to make it larger or smaller, or hide the video off-screen and still hear the audio.
Since the introduction of picture-in-picture, most major video apps have added support for it. Whether someone's using Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, Twitch, Apple TV, or almost anything else, picture-in-picture works seamlessly. Noticeably missing from that list, however, is YouTube. Google drug its feet for months with no word on iOS picture-in-picture support. Then, in June 2021, the company announced that PiP for iOS was finally in the works.
As of August 2021, Google has officially enabled support for picture-in-picture in the iOS YouTube app — though it comes with a catch. Rather than being enabled by default, users need to manually enable the feature from the YouTube website. Visit 'youtube.com/new' from any phone or computer, log in, find the 'Picture-in-picture on iOS' section, and click the 'Try it out' button. Once that's done, picture-in-picture is enabled on the YouTube iOS app.
Tips For Using YouTube PiP On iOS
That's all simple enough on paper, but there are a couple of more things to be aware of. For starters, this is only available for YouTube Premium subscribers. YouTube Premium is available for $11.99/month, and in addition to PiP support, it also includes ad-free viewing, offline downloads, and access to YouTube Music Premium. There are plans to bring PiP to free YouTube users at some point in the future, but Google hasn't provided an exact timeline for when that's happening.
If someone has YouTube Premium, enables the feature using the steps above, and PiP still isn't working, they may need to uninstall and reinstall the YouTube app from their iPhone. 9to5Google reports deleting the app like this "might be needed to get it functioning," so don't stress too much if PiP doesn't start working right away.
Lastly, it's important to mention this feature is only available for a limited time. On the page to turn on picture-in-picture, Google notes that it's only available until October 31. Google could roll out PiP for everyone on that date, enable it for all Premium users by default, or revoke it for additional fine-tuning. Until then, however, Premium users can follow the steps outlined here and start using picture-in-picture right now.
Source: YouTube, 9to5Google