While picture-in-picture support is available at the system level for most video services on both iPhones and iPads, YouTube’s support has been patchy, necessitating workarounds such as viewing the service through a browser rather than its native app. However, YouTube’s Premium test improved the functionality significantly by allowing users to continue viewing even when they navigated away from the main YouTube app.
YouTube’s experimental support for picture-in-picture for premium subscribers was always intended to be restricted. The beta phase, which began in June of last year, was initially scheduled to finish on October 31st before being extended. However, although the test was limited to premium customers, YouTube confirmed last month its intention to roll out the functionality to all iOS users in the United States, including non-premium users, “in the coming months.”
