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How to Use iOS 14's Picture in Picture Mode to Watch YouTube Videos

I can't see them doing this. They want want PIP or background audio to be a paid features on a phone. You don't need PIP on ipad, as youtube app already supports split view, 70/30 and slide over view so it's not a big loss there.

I feel like PIP would actually lead to more ads and more next video being played on a phone though.
 
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TheFluffyDuck said:
Unless I am missing something you cant pip in the iPad version of yourtube app either.
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Correct. But PIP functionality does exist on the iPad; it’s been there for years. Just google doesn’t support its use in youtube unlike other developers who do support its use in their video apps. That’s why I wonder: If Google wanted to support PIP but restrict its use to paid youtube users only, why haven’t they done so on iPad already? they don’t have to wait for iOS/iPadOS 14 for that.
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femike said:
If you need background audio for youtube use Safari not the app. Background audio should not be a paid feature. Apple should put blockers in to stop this practice from app developers. Google continously bugs me with notifications to pay for this feature.
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Not only that, but they’ve become extremely aggressive in promoting the paid youtube premium service. Now the ads cover the whole screen and they somewhat hide the no, thanks option by making it really small. They really try hard to make the user feel like it’s either they subscribe or can’t use youtube at all, which is not the case (at least not yet).
 
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Even on android you need to pay to use Picture in Picture. Least with android you can use pop up window which is basically PIP just In a different format.
 
jasondinh said:
Shameless plug: I made CornerTube, an app that let you watch YouTube videos in PiP mode on iPad many years ago. Now it supports iPhone too.
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CornerTube is amazing, been using it a long time on iPad, it's really easy to use and works like a charm. I really don't get why it's not more popular and why most people everywhere, including MacRumors, just keep sharing the laborious Safari method.

Thanks a lot for the iPhone update. I didn’t expect it this fast and it works as expected. You can also turn off the screen and listen to videos as audio only.
 
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ruka.snow said:
Youtube via the browser is the best way to go, otherwise it bypassed the adblocker.
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If you use your browser to access a YouTube video and use PIP, you can then swipe out of the app and sleep the screen. Wake it back up and press the play button and suddenly you have background audio streaming. Pretty neat workaround since YouTube wants you to pay for Premium to get background playing.
 
The Game 161 said:
Even on android you need to pay to use Picture in Picture. Least with android you can use pop up window which is basically PIP just In a different format.
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The problem is I’m paying for YouTube premium and still can’t get Picture in Picture on my iPhone or iPad.
 
Shanghaichica said:
The problem is I’m paying for YouTube premium and still can’t get Picture in Picture on my iPhone or iPad.
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Does yours still work on safari? I have YouTube premium and picture and picture works fine on my note 20 ultra but for me the window is too small..luckily this is fixed on android 11
 
The Game 161 said:
Does yours still work on safari? I have YouTube premium and picture and picture works fine on my note 20 ultra but for me the window is too small..luckily this is fixed on android 11
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No it doesn’t work on safari anymore. It closed the pip once you close the app and just plays the audio. For a while google allowed PIP on android phones even without premium. My husband used it on his note 8 before I upgraded my YouTube premium to a family account.
 
Shanghaichica said:
No it doesn’t work on safari anymore. It closed the pip once you close the app and just plays the audio. For a while google allowed PIP on android phones even without premium. My husband used it on his note 8 before I upgraded my YouTube premium to a family account.
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I like to use pop up window but youtube picture on picture is just more convenient
 
This suddenly stopped working for me. For no reason at all as far as I can tell. I go to full screen mode, click the pip button, it goes to pip for about a second and then collapses right back into the original window. I’ve tried emptying cache, restarting, and even turned off my ad blocker. Any one have any ideas?
 
Deacon-Blues said:
This suddenly stopped working for me. For no reason at all as far as I can tell. I go to full screen mode, click the pip button, it goes to pip for about a second and then collapses right back into the original window. I’ve tried emptying cache, restarting, and even turned off my ad blocker. Any one have any ideas?
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it is not you... it is youtube, they disable that functionality...
 
Deacon-Blues said:
This suddenly stopped working for me. For no reason at all as far as I can tell. I go to full screen mode, click the pip button, it goes to pip for about a second and then collapses right back into the original window. I’ve tried emptying cache, restarting, and even turned off my ad blocker. Any one have any ideas?
Click to expand...
Do you subscribe to YouTube premium?
 
Very disappointing. I wasn't about to pay for Premium just to stream audio in the background, but kicking me out of PIP mode just adds ill will to the mix.
 
jasondinh said:
Shameless plug: I made CornerTube, an app that let you watch YouTube videos in PiP mode on iPad many years ago. Now it supports iPhone too.
Click to expand...

Great job! But I have a question, will YouTube eventually block your app from working? I’m asking since I had several apps previously, but YouTube blocked them from working.
 
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