YouTube again extends its iOS picture-in-picture test phase — now ends March 14

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Super Bowl Commercial on YouTube app
Super Bowl Commercial on YouTube app (Image credit: Luke Filipowicz / iMore)

What you need to know

  • YouTube has again extended the timeframe for its Picture in Picture testing.
  • The current testing window ends on March 14.
  • YouTube now allows people to put the comments beside the playing video on the desktop.

YouTube has once again extended the time period in which people can test picture-in-picture (PiP) mode on iPhones and iPads.

Having originally set a deadline of the end of October for its testing, YouTube has been extending that timeframe ever since. The latest window now ends on March 14 which means people still have a month to test things out. Anyone who has yet to try YouTube PiP on an iPhone or iPad can head to https://www.youtube.com/new to flick the required switch.

How to use: While you are watching a video, swipe up (or press home) to close the app and watch in a miniplayer.

Note:

  • Locking the screen while watching in PiP will pause the video. You can resume the video using the lock screen media controls.
  • When you're trying this feature for the first time, it may not work properly for the first hour. If PiP doesn't work after the first hour, try uninstalling and reinstalling the YouTube app.

YouTube has been testing the ability to use PiP on iPhones and iPads for some time, although you'll need to be a Premium subscriber no matter what part of the world you're in. Those in the United States will be able to use PiP without a Premium subscription eventually, too.

YouTube is also now testing a change that will allow peoople to read comments next to a playing video when watching on the web, too. Head to https://www.youtube.com/new if you want to enable that particular feature in your web browser on a Mac, for example.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.