YouTube restricts iOS 14 picture-in-picture feature to Premium subscribers, 4K not availab...

Posted:
in iOS edited October 2020
Google's YouTube unit appears to be restricting picture-in-picture video viewing on Apple's iOS 14 to subscribers of its Premium subscription service, while promised 4K resolution in tvOS 14 is a no-show.

YouTube


Apple's iOS 14 delivers PiP video viewing to iPhone for the first time. The handy feature allows users to simultaneously watch video content, conduct FaceTime calls and more while completing tasks in other apps.

Video viewing is a main use case for PiP, and YouTube is arguably the most highly trafficked destination for online content. Unfortunately, it appears that Google is gatekeeping access to the function.

While the feature remains free to use on iPad (at least through Safari), the iPhone version of YouTube's app does not support PiP. Shortly after iOS 14 launched, users discovered a workaround that enabled PiP compatibility when accessing content through YouTube's website in Safari. That hole has now been closed.

It's not clear if the recent change was made intentionally or is the result of a bug. As noted by MacRumors, however, PiP still works for YouTube Premium subscribers and with videos that are embedded in third-party websites, suggesting YouTube actively updated its code to block the functionality.

YouTube is also dragging its feet on delivering a promised update that would allow tvOS 14 users to watch content at 4K resolutions. While 4K playback was supported in pre-release beta versions of tvOS 14, the feature is currently missing.

When asked about the issue on Twitter, YouTube said, "Sorry about the back and forth -- jumping in to clarify that Apple TV 4K will support 4K playback soon. Stay tuned for an update here."

A previous version of this article incorrectly said PiP was available through YouTube's iOS app.
«13

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 59
    It’s intentional. YouTube offers a music subscription like Apple Music and Spotify. It would be a free loophole to YouTube your favorite band then hide the video to scroll through Facebook etc. 
    svanstromcornchipkillroywatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 59
    I know that it is hard to accept, but YouTube’s product is very bad and people should stop using it. 
    Beatsapplesauce007fred1ajlPetrolDavesvanstromjdb8167cornchipthtStrangeDays
  • Reply 3 of 59
    davgregdavgreg Posts: 1,036member
    If the DoJ wants a monopoly to break up, they can start with Google and YouTube.
    rob53Alex1NmacseekerBeatspatchythepirateapplesauce007mike54PetrolDavesvanstromjdb8167
  • Reply 4 of 59
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    bsnjon said:
    I know that it is hard to accept, but YouTube’s product is very bad and people should stop using it. 
    What’s its replacement?
    svanstrombshankcornchipmwhitesuperklotonmac daddy zeechemengin1
  • Reply 5 of 59
    rob53 said:
    bsnjon said:
    I know that it is hard to accept, but YouTube’s product is very bad and people should stop using it. 
    What’s its replacement?
    Vimeo? Creators pay to host their video. No ads. No weird technical roadblocks designed protect ad revenue. 
    patchythepiratemac_dogsvanstromsphericcaladanianiqatedocornchippscooter63georgie01magman1979
  • Reply 6 of 59
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    But...but... I though only Apple restricts choice!!!  Could YouTube be "greedy" too?

    Waiting for the YouTube to get serious flak for this.
    edited September 2020 Alex1NBeatspatchythepirateGilliam_Batesmike54PetrolDavesvanstrombshankjdb8167cornchip
  • Reply 7 of 59
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    polymnia said:
    rob53 said:
    bsnjon said:
    I know that it is hard to accept, but YouTube’s product is very bad and people should stop using it. 
    What’s its replacement?
    Vimeo? Creators pay to host their video. No ads. No weird technical roadblocks designed protect ad revenue. 
    Youtube is the other way around, creators get paid by views and subscribing. I hate the ads but lots of people have turned youtube into a paying job. Vimeo is nice but it doesn't anywhere near the number of videos or views that Youtube has. 
    superklotonmac daddy zeechemengin1watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 59
    polymniapolymnia Posts: 1,080member
    rob53 said:
    polymnia said:
    rob53 said:
    bsnjon said:
    I know that it is hard to accept, but YouTube’s product is very bad and people should stop using it. 
    What’s its replacement?
    Vimeo? Creators pay to host their video. No ads. No weird technical roadblocks designed protect ad revenue. 
    Youtube is the other way around, creators get paid by views and subscribing. I hate the ads but lots of people have turned youtube into a paying job. Vimeo is nice but it doesn't anywhere near the number of videos or views that Youtube has. 
    You didn’t specify that the business model had to match. It certainly has the technical chops to physically replace YouTube. Which answers the question asked. 
    patchythepiratepscooter63magman1979mac daddy zeekillroywatto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 59
    BeatsBeats Posts: 3,073member
    Yeah restricting 4K on Apple TV is a pure dick move.
    braytonakpatchythepirateGilliam_BatesPetrolDavekiehtanpscooter63georgie01magman1979mac daddy zeekillroy
  • Reply 10 of 59
    YouTube wants to restrict an iOS feature until you pay for YouTube. No. 

    I have found a working solution that still allows PiP, so funk that. 
    patchythepiratePetrolDaveStrangeDaysmac daddy zeekillroywatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 59
    Google once said it's mantra was "DO NO EVIL". Now I realize that "NO" always stood for "Next Opportunity."
    Gilliam_BatesPetrolDavesvanstrompscooter63pujones1magman1979Beatsmac daddy zeekillroy
  • Reply 12 of 59
    It doesn’t seems to work on iPad so far.. I do have premium .
    Gilliam_Bateswatto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 59
    "Oh, so your nice phone has new functionality that you like?! Well, we just innovated how to block that until you pay us to get it back."
        – The 'Do No Evil'-people.
    kiehtanStrangeDaysgeorgie01pujones1magman1979raulcristianBeatsFileMakerFellermac daddy zeekillroy
  • Reply 14 of 59
    Worth to mention that picture-in-picture mode (PiP) only works with YouTube in Safari, NOT in the YouTube app!
    mac daddy zeekillroywatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 59
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,621member
    YouTube is my go-to option for many things.

    In my case, at least so far, ads are not a problem. 

    It enjoys a dominant position for providing what users and content creators have wanted. That swings both ways though and alternatives will be ready to step in if over monetization becomes a deterrent to enjoying content. That applies to the content creators too. 

    YouTube is a business and restricting PiP might be a purely business decision. iOS users still have access to the content. It's not a big deal. 

    As Apple develops its streaming knowhow it could even enter direct competition with YouTube. 

    Competition is good and with the GMS/Huawei situation I am already testing the Google free world (free of GMS requirements). The only way competition can take a hold is if users give it a chance. 

    Also, Apple could possibly choose to make any video content playable in a floating window if it needed (via iOS updates). 


    superklotonkillroymuthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 16 of 59
    For now, pip still works on iPhone using Firefox and chrome. Doesn’t work in safari.
    superklotonmac daddy zee
  • Reply 17 of 59
    avon b7 said:
    YouTube is my go-to option for many things.

    In my case, at least so far, ads are not a problem. 

    It enjoys a dominant position for providing what users and content creators have wanted. That swings both ways though and alternatives will be ready to step in if over monetization becomes a deterrent to enjoying content. That applies to the content creators too. 

    YouTube is a business and restricting PiP might be a purely business decision. iOS users still have access to the content. It's not a big deal. 

    As Apple develops its streaming knowhow it could even enter direct competition with YouTube. 

    Competition is good and with the GMS/Huawei situation I am already testing the Google free world (free of GMS requirements). The only way competition can take a hold is if users give it a chance. 

    Also, Apple could possibly choose to make any video content playable in a floating window if it needed (via iOS updates). 
    Competition is good, he said… after competition just made a third party service go out of their way to cripple a native, universal, feature of a major OS.
    pscooter63StrangeDaystmaymagman1979Beatsmac daddy zeewatto_cobra
  • Reply 18 of 59
    There seems to be a lot of these small features or issues with YouTube and Apple devices now. 

    I understand they may want to restrict the video playing option When not in the app as that was a feature of YouTube Premium. 

    The lack of 4K I find odd. I’d forgotten it wasn’t available as I’ve been using it on my TV for so long I thought everything had it. Feature parity would be nice 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 19 of 59
    flydogflydog Posts: 1,123member
    I don't have an option to view anything in 4K in YouTube, and I'm using the app on a 2020 iPad Pro and an iPhone 11 Pro so it doesn't seem to be a device issue. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 20 of 59
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,621member
    svanstrom said:
    avon b7 said:
    YouTube is my go-to option for many things.

    In my case, at least so far, ads are not a problem. 

    It enjoys a dominant position for providing what users and content creators have wanted. That swings both ways though and alternatives will be ready to step in if over monetization becomes a deterrent to enjoying content. That applies to the content creators too. 

    YouTube is a business and restricting PiP might be a purely business decision. iOS users still have access to the content. It's not a big deal. 

    As Apple develops its streaming knowhow it could even enter direct competition with YouTube. 

    Competition is good and with the GMS/Huawei situation I am already testing the Google free world (free of GMS requirements). The only way competition can take a hold is if users give it a chance. 

    Also, Apple could possibly choose to make any video content playable in a floating window if it needed (via iOS updates). 
    Competition is good, he said… after competition just made a third party service go out of their way to cripple a native, universal, feature of a major OS.
    Let's forget for a moment how far behind Apple has been with this kind of 'native' feature and put it into perspective. 

    Apple provides a simple hook to the functionality. No more than that. Developers can see fit do with it what they want. 



    edited September 2020 superkloton
Sign In or Register to comment.