YouTube TV picture-in-picture rolling out to iOS 15 users

YouTube has brought some more parity between the Android and iOS version of its TV streaming app, YouTube TV, by beginning to roll out picture-in-picture mode for iOS 15 users.

The feature has been available for Android users for years, but is only just coming to those watching on iPhones, welcome though the change will be.

iPhone & iPad users 

We’re happy to share that picture-in-picture is now rolling out to your iOS 15+ devices. Simply select a video to watch and swipe  from the bottom of the screen to return to the device’s homepage. The video can scale down and move across your screen.

— YouTube TV (@YouTubeTV) March 30, 2022

It’s already worth clarifying that this doesn’t apply to the main YouTube app, which still has picture-in-picture mode gated behind a YouTube Premium subscription on iOS. It, too, has been enabled for all users on Android for some time.

The feature has been in testing for a number of months, and YouTube’s in-app details have repeatedly pushed back the projected end date for that testing period, which is now scheduled to stop in April.

Still for those in the US who make use of YouTube’s TV streaming app, this will be a great change, and can be accessed simply by swiping up from the bottom of the screen while watching a video. This will let you multitask without ending the stream you’re watching.

As with other app’s use of picture-in-picture, you can scale the video player to your tastes and move it around your screen so it isn’t in the way. The feature should be rolling out now, so keep checking your app in the next few days to see if its been activated for you.