Social media networks have been one of our primary sources of entertainment for at least the last decade. They offer a lot of content that we can enjoy. There is Instagram for those who love looking at beautiful photos. Likewise, sites like SoundCloud and Spotify exist for music lovers. Then, there is Youtube, the social media that is the unrivaled provider of video entertainment. It is so popular that it became the world’s second-largest website.
As you would expect from a gargantuan website like Youtube, you can find so much content on the site. You can watch and stream videos endlessly. Aside from the abundance of video content, it also boasts a wide selection of genres. There are tutorials, video blogs (vlogs), indie films, talent showcase, Youtube exclusive series, and many more. So, you will not get bored.
Mobile Users’ Problem With Increasingg Youtube Views
Unfortunately, not because we have the capability to watch for hours on end means we actually can. Youtube is not going anywhere. But we are. Despite the myths about growing or buying YouTube views, these stats are going in one direction thanks to iOS and mobile devices.
We still have a life, and most of the time, it requires us to do something. In the digital age, we could do most of those somethings through our devices. For mobile users, that means they have to peel themselves away from Youtube. They should pause what they are watching on Youtube in favor of doing other tasks like writing a text or e-mail.
Of course, when that happens repeatedly, it becomes annoying. After all, their entertainment time gets interrupted. Mobile watchers are not able to focus and enjoy the show. When watching a live stream, especially, closing Youtube to do other things ruins the whole experience. Users will either have to go back to where they left off, which means they are no longer watching in real-time. The other option is to return to the stream and go back to the parts they have missed after the live stream has ended. Either way is different and unappealing compared to being able to watch it uninterrupted.
Picture-in-Picture Feature
PC users can multitask without the need of closing Youtube. They can shrink the Youtube tab by a little bit, then open new tabs and windows. Put them side-by-side, and they can simultaneously watch videos and do other tasks. Moreover, even if they put the other tab or window in full screen, it does not close Youtube. The audio continues. So, if they are using Youtube to listen to music, lessons, or stories told orally, their experience will not be affected.
Sadly, in the past, the same cannot be said for mobile users. Youtube has heard the cries of mobile app users. So, it introduced a new feature that lets mobile app users enjoy Youtube the same way PC users do.
Youtube utilized the Picture-in-Picture video support on mobile devices. With it, users can watch YouTube videos while using other apps on their mobile devices. It shrinks the video into a small player that “floats” on the screen. Users can move this player around their home screen and position it over other apps. For instance, a user can have a video of PewDiePie playing on their screen while shopping on an e-commerce website. Needless to say, mobile app users warmly welcomed this new feature.
The Picture-in-Picture feature is available for all devices running on Android 8.0, also known as Oreo, or above. It was also released for IOS devices, but there have been many issues with it.
Picture-in-Picture in IOS
Apple has added picture-in-Picture video support for iPads with iOS 9 and iPhones with iOS 14. However, Youtube’s support for the feature in their operating system has not been reliable. It was spotty. For instance, it only works for iPad if you are using the Safari browser. In the more unfortunate case of iPhone users, they can only access the feature periodically. Furthermore, many users have reported that it only works for premium subscribers.
When they try to play a video from Youtube in Picture-in-picture mode, it just briefly flickers then disappears. But, it works perfectly on Youtube videos embedded on another website. On the other hand, for Youtube Premium owners, Picture-in-picture functions properly. Beta testers said that was not the case before the official release.
Users have created a workaround that will allow them to enjoy the PiP feature. CodeEverywhere introduced a method that uses a snippet of JavaScript and no external plugins. By using this method, users suppress the Picture-in-Picture block that YouTube has added to its mobile site. Then, using CodeEverywhere’s code, software engineer Jonas Reitmann created an IOS Shortcut and made it available for download. However, many people reported they are having trouble making the direct download shortcut work. In that case, and probably the safer method, is to recreate the shortcut themselves. Instructions are available online, so they will not have trouble doing so.
Now, IOS users can say goodbye to these issues and alternative methods. Youtube has announced that it is rolling out official support for the feature. With this, IOS users, with Youtube Premium subscriptions or none, will soon have access to PiP using the YouTube app. They can finally enjoy it like how Android users have done in the past years.
Keep in mind that in the meantime, only users in the US will get this function. The support will be rolled out worldwide at a later date. Likewise, Premium subscribers will have early access, and rollout is already in progress. YouTube did not provide a timeline for when the feature would arrive for free users. Though, we can expect it would not be long after the release for paying members.
IOS users have divided opinions about this. Some are excited, while some are not as much. They doubt the feature will work properly or will stick around. Clearly, the current situation has affected their trust. The thing is, it is too early to judge. The official support for PiP is yet to be released. So, it would be best to wait patiently without having high or very low expectations.