Google and Apple have not responded to a demand for remark.
Sadly, it seems YouTube has done something to stop videos from continuing to play when PIP mode is triggered– unless you pay for YouTube Premium, that is.
Among iOS 14s big brand-new functions is picture-in-picture mode, which lets you view a video in a little window while youre doing other things on your iPhone. That could be helpful if you, say, wished to enjoy a YouTube video in Safari while chatting with your good friends or examining email. Regrettably, it seems YouTube has done something to stop videos from continuing to play when PIP mode is triggered– unless you pay for YouTube Premium, that is.
Its unclear if this is a bug or if YouTube removed the functionality deliberately. For its own app, YouTube limits the ability to play videos in the background to YouTube Premium customers. It appears possible that YouTube desires to restrict picture-in-picture to its paying customers.
See for yourself. Pull up a video on YouTubes website in Safari on your iPhone and take it full screen. You must see a picture-in-picture icon in the top-left corner of your screen if you tap to pull up playback controls. Tap that, and the video briefly enters into its own window before returning to its normal area on YouTubes website. And if you attempt to go back to your home screen while watching a video in complete screen, youll see that it quickly flickers into picture-in-picture mode before vanishing.
Remarkably, as observed by MacRumors, you can see YouTube videos in picture-in-picture mode if theyre embedded on a website. And if you have YouTube Premium, picture-in-picture works as anticipated. Its not functioning effectively if youre a totally free user. This wasnt the case as just recently as yesterday, according to MacRumors, and I remember it dealing with the iOS 14 betas ahead of the software applications main release this week.
Interestingly, as observed by MacRumors, you can view YouTube videos in picture-in-picture mode if theyre embedded on a website. For its own app, YouTube restricts the capability to play videos in the background to YouTube Premium customers.
Picture-in-picture mode still works with YouTube videos in Safari if youre using an iPad, no matter whether youve got a totally free or Premium account.
