YouTube enables Picture-in-Picture support in the iOS app too

This time officially, Google is enabling Picture-in-Picture support in the YouTube app for iOS, giving phone and tablet owners the ability to watch videos while using their device for other activities.

From now on, it’s as simple as turning on YouTube on your phone and starting a video. When you exit the app, the clip stays open over the regular iOS interface. This window can be resized with pinch-to-zoom, or it can be hidden if you drag it to the edge of the screen with a quick swipe. There are control buttons like pause and next displayed above the clip, as well as a button that returns you to fullscreen playback.

To enable/disable PiP support in the YouTube app simply visit the Settings > General menu, where you check the Picture-in-picture option. If you leave PiP off, you can still use background playback, for example for listening to music.

With Picture-in-Picture mode enabled you can watch YouTube clips in an easy-to-move mini player anywhere on the screen, while interacting with the interface of other active apps on the screen. To avoid unintentionally activating PiP mode you will need to stop the playing clip before leaving the YouTube app.

Coming as a discrimination between YouTube users in the US and the rest of the world, Google has enabled PiP support for all US iPhone and iPad owners. However, just like on Android, if you’re from Europe you’ll need a YouTube Premium subscription to take advantage of this feature.