YouTube kills off Picture-in-Picture on iOS app

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iOS
YouTube has disabled its experimental picture-in-picture mode for its iOS app, nine months after the trial of the feature commenced.

[via StockSnap/Pixabay]
[via StockSnap/Pixabay]


The streaming video service enabled PiP on iOS as an "experimental" feature for the app in August 2021. By April 2022, it seems that YouTube has decided the feature isn't worth keeping around.

Previously visible on the YouTube.com/New page the experimental feature has been removed from view. There is also no option to enable or disable the feature in the app, while the website states it has "been turned off."

Despite being disabled, it appears that some users are still able to access it for the moment. 9to5Google says some users who previously enabled the feature can still enjoy PiP, at least until the app completely disables it.

Not all YouTube users were able to use Picture-in-Picture, as it was only available for Premium subscribers since its introduction in 2021.

Though Picture-in-Picture is disappearing from the main YouTube app, some users will still be able to benefit from the feature, via YouTube TV. The television-streaming package enabled the feature in March.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    TheObannonFileTheObannonFile Posts: 110member
    Booooooooooooooo 👎🏼 

    This should be basic functionality.
    winstoner71iOS_Guy80bloggerblogsphericStrangeDaysgrandact73watto_cobratyler82
  • Reply 2 of 15
    darkvaderdarkvader Posts: 1,146member
    Yawn.  Useless "feature" that I never saw the purpose for in the first place.
    ravnorodom
  • Reply 3 of 15
    Cesar Battistini MazieroCesar Battistini Maziero Posts: 339member
    WTF I pay for premium I use it daily. 
    winstoner71iOS_Guy80bloggerblogStrangeDaysgrandact73watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 15
    winstoner71winstoner71 Posts: 114member
    This absolutely sucks. I used it literally everyday. 
    iOS_Guy80bloggerblogStrangeDaysgrandact73watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 15
    EsquireCatsEsquireCats Posts: 1,268member
    Now is probably a good time to mention the Vinegar app. Gives you PiP and a lot of the basic iOS video playback features that Google deliberately block*

    *for what merely appears as competitive reasons.
    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 15
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,198member
    Now is probably a good time to mention the Vinegar app. Gives you PiP and a lot of the basic iOS video playback features that Google deliberately block*

    *for what merely appears as competitive reasons.
    I can't think of another streaming app that can't do PiP, so by "competitive reasons" I guess you mean iOS vs. Android OS. In which case this is hardly a feature to choose Android for. It's laughable if that's Google's thought.
    edited April 2022 watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 15
    ravnorodomravnorodom Posts: 697member
    My wife does PIP long ago before YouTube does. She watches one show on big screen TV while her other show on her iPad or iPhone.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 15
    lowededwookielowededwookie Posts: 1,143member
    PIP on YouTube was a PITA. I’d finish watching a video to move onto another one only to have it go into PIP and I’d have to kill it with the “X” button.

    Frankly I can’t wait to see it go.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 15
    xyzzy01xyzzy01 Posts: 134member
    I don't care about it for iOS, but for iPadOS it's a must have.
    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 15
    NaiyasNaiyas Posts: 107member
    Perhaps putting it behind the pay wall wasn’t the best idea for adoption (or for getting people to subscribe). PiP wasn’t going to push me to subscribe anyway and I’m sure I’m not alone. Given many of the videos on YouTube have advertising embedded in their streams, the value of paying to remove ads is minimal IMO.
    sphericStrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 15
    dutchlorddutchlord Posts: 210member
    Bad move from Google. I used it frequently and now I miss this feature. Another reason to end my Premium subscription.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 12 of 15
    KBuffettKBuffett Posts: 95member
    I don’t understand why Apple don’t implement PIP for all apps. Kinda like this this that Microsoft implemented decades ago call Windows. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 13 of 15
    stoimenov95stoimenov95 Posts: 1member
    What about this?
    https://twitter.com/teamyoutube/status/1513174475612856324?s=21&t=1h2BQkGqhRXEYHCFNGMJoQ
  • Reply 14 of 15
    jcohjcoh Posts: 23member
    KBuffett said:
    I don’t understand why Apple don’t implement PIP for all apps. Kinda like this this that Microsoft implemented decades ago call Windows. 
    Apple allows it for all apps.  It’s up to the app developer incorporate it into their app.  
    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 15 of 15
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,877member
    darkvader said:
    Yawn.  Useless "feature" that I never saw the purpose for in the first place.
    Really? Can’t understand the purpose of doing a couple things at the same time? Lack of life experiences or lack of imagination, it seems. 
    watto_cobramuthuk_vanalingam
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