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iOS 14: How to Use Picture in Picture Mode on iPhone

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With iOS 13, Apple added a Picture in Picture Mode to the iPad, and with iOS 14, that Picture in Picture functionality is available for the iPhone too, letting users do things like watch videos and take FaceTime calls while doing other things on their device.

This guide covers everything that you need to know about using Picture in Picture on the iPhone.


Using Picture in Picture With Apps

Picture in Picture works with apps that play video content, but when it comes to third-party apps, app developers have to implement support for the feature.

pictureinpictureappletv.jpg
Picture in Picture in the Apple TV app. Content is black because Apple does not allow screenshots of movies and TV shows.​

In a compatible app, which includes Apple's apps such as Apple TV, you can tap on the Picture in Picture icon available at the top of the app to activate Picture in Picture mode, double tap on the video with two fingers, or swipe upward from the bottom of the iPhone's display to activate Picture in Picture mode.

Exiting out of Picture in Picture Mode and returning to full screen mode with the app reopened can be done by tapping on the same icon in the upper right corner of the Picture in Picture window or double tapping with two fingers. Closing the Picture in Picture window and existing out of the app can be done by tapping on the X in the left corner.

pictureinpicturecontrols.jpg

Picture in Picture mode controls for apps that play television and movie content include play/pause and an option to tap to skip 15 seconds forward and 15 seconds back.

Apple's apps that work with Picture in Picture include anything with a video feed, such as Apple TV+ or video footage from HomeKit-enabled cameras in the Home app.

YouTube Picture in Picture


YouTube, unfortunately, has not implemented Picture in Picture support yet, so the YouTube app doesn't work with the feature. There are some doubts that YouTube will ever support this feature, but YouTube has been testing it on the iPad. Fortunately, there is a workaround for now, using YouTube on the web.


Using Picture in Picture on the Web

Picture in Picture with the Safari app works with almost any video and website developers don't need to implement support. On a site with a video, tap to play the video and then tap the Picture in Picture icon or do a two finger double tap on the video. You can also swipe upwards from the bottom of the iPhone to activate Picture in Picture.

pictureinpicturesafari2.jpg

There are some video types that don't work, such as the videos that some sites embed in webpages, so there may need to be some tweaks to some websites before those kinds of videos can be used in Picture in Picture mode. It is compatible with videos from sites like YouTube and Vimeo, however, so websites that use these embeds will have content compatible with Picture in Picture.

pictureinpicturesafari.jpg

Note that to use Picture in Picture mode with Safari, if you want to continue browsing another website while a video plays, you need to open a new Safari tab.

Using Picture in Picture with FaceTime

Picture in Picture works with FaceTime in iOS 14, and that's perhaps the most useful way to take advantage of it. In iOS 13, if you need to do something on your phone, you have to swipe out of the FaceTime window, which pauses your video for the person you're speaking with.

pictureinpicturefacetime.jpg

In iOS 14, if you swipe out of a FaceTime call it automatically minimizes into a Picture in Picture window that continues to be visible even while you access other apps so you and the other person you're talking to can continue your conversation without the iPhone being otherwise unusable.

You can double tap on the FaceTime window to change its size from large to medium or small and then back again, and if you just single tap the Picture in Picture window expands back to the full size of the iPhone's display. You can also move the Picture in Picture window to the optimal spot on the screen.

pictureinpicturefacetime2.jpg


Customizing Picture in Picture Window Size and Position

You can double tap on any Picture in Picture window or use pinch gestures to change the Picture in Picture window size. There are three sizes to choose from: small, medium, and large.

pictureinpicturesizes.jpg

The small window is about the size of two app icons, the medium is as wide as about three app icons and as tall as one and a half, while the largest window is the size of eight app icons.

All of the windows are shown in a landscape orientation on the iPhone's Home Screen with the exception of FaceTime, which is shown in portrait mode.

Picture in Picture windows can be used with almost any app or while on the Home Screen. The small and medium windows can be moved to any corner of the iPhone's display, while the large Picture in Picture window can be placed at the top or the bottom of the screen.

Moving the Picture in Picture Window Off Screen

You can pull a Picture in Picture window of any size over to the side of the iPhone with drag and drop gestures, moving it off of the screen.

pictureinpicturecollapse.jpg

With the Picture in Picture window off screen, you will continue to hear the audio from the video or FaceTime call, but it won't be visible on the iPhone's display.

Guide Feedback

Have questions about the Picture in Picture mode on the iPhone, know of a feature we left out, or want to offer feedback on this guide? Send us an email here.

Article Link: iOS 14: How to Use Picture in Picture Mode on iPhone
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/guide/picture-in-picture/
Last edited:
Hope they introduce the corresponding feature for people on the other end -- Auto Disconnect if more than one thing is showing on the other person's phone!

Just what we need. Calling someone up and they're watching a video, playing a game, and saying "Uh-huh", "uh-huh" every now and then!

No, thank you! It'll be as bad as people who put you on hold to take the other call!
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: AtomicDusk, erniefairchild1 and CarlJ
So, like this? (sent from my galaxy s10+)
About time, Apple.
Very weird that YouTube wouldn't implement it immediately, considering this is where 90% of PiP usage comes from
Screenshot_20200711-020327_Chrome.jpg
 
Saturn007 said:
Hope they introduce the corresponding feature for people on the other end -- Auto Disconnect if more than one thing is showing on the other person's phone!

Just what we need. Calling someone up and they're watching a video, playing a game, and saying "Uh-huh", "uh-huh" every now and then!

No, thank you! It'll be as bad as people who put you on hold to take the other call!
Click to expand...

All of the responders to your post are busy assisting other forum members. Your post is very important to us. Please remain on MacRumors constantly refreshing the page and someone will be with you shortly. We appreciate your patience and thank you for choosing MacRumors.
 
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Not to be that guy, but picture-in-picture has been available on the iPad since iOS 9 not iOS 13. I‘m pleased we’re finally getting it on iPhone.

I’ve now deleted the YouTube app and am just using the website because you can do picture-in-picture with that. It even seems to support auto-playing the next video so you don’t have to keep switching back to Safari to start the next video, which is really good.
 
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BulkSlash said:
Not to be that guy, but picture-in-picture has been available on the iPad since iOS 9 not iOS 13. I‘m pleased we’re finally getting it on iPhone.
Click to expand...
Apple was making sure users actually used that feature and wanted to work out the bugs. ;)
 
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Not sure what I am doing wrong, but I can't get the screen to flip from portrait to landscape mode when playing movies in AppleTV. I can get the picture in picture to work just fine. Is this a bug?
 
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BulkSlash said:
Not to be that guy, but picture-in-picture has been available on the iPad since iOS 9 not iOS 13. I‘m pleased we’re finally getting it on iPhone.

I’ve now deleted the YouTube app and am just using the website because you can do picture-in-picture with that. It even seems to support auto-playing the next video so you don’t have to keep switching back to Safari to start the next video, which is really good.
Click to expand...
I was jumping in the comments to say that myself. Here’s a link to an Apple Insider article about it.

Hopefully, YouTube doesn’t disable that in the future. They didn’t for the iPad. Here’s to hoping that they don’t for the iPhone. The fact that they get away with having it as a “premium” feature of the native app is ridiculous and is a violation of the App Store guidelines. That’s also why we will likely either never see or not see for sometime, a dark mode for the mobile version of YouTube. They don’t want to encourage use. Although the desktop version honestly isn’t bad on the 11 Pro or the iPad.
 
Hey YouTube, we’re still waiting for your app to support it!

And I know, I know, wait for iOS 14 to officially come out. But PiP came to the iPad 5 years ago, and YouTube hasn’t supported it yet!
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BulkSlash said:
Not to be that guy, but picture-in-picture has been available on the iPad since iOS 9 not iOS 13. I‘m pleased we’re finally getting it on iPhone.

I’ve now deleted the YouTube app and am just using the website because you can do picture-in-picture with that. It even seems to support auto-playing the next video so you don’t have to keep switching back to Safari to start the next video, which is really good.
Click to expand...
Honestly I’m considering doing the same. And you have to request the desktop site if you want anything over 720p, sometimes the mobile site even limits you to 360p lol.
 
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4jasontv said:
I am guessing that means you can't watch two videos at once within the same app?
Click to expand...

I watch 2 video from safari side by side all the time (on iPad of course), but one needs to be muted. 😀
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BulkSlash said:
I’ve now deleted the YouTube app and am just using the website because you can do picture-in-picture with that. It even seems to support auto-playing the next video so you don’t have to keep switching back to Safari to start the next video, which is really good.
Click to expand...

Can you watch 4K (on iOS 14 of course)? If I can I might go this route as well.
 
The last paragraph states that we will be able to move the FaceTime PIP off screen and continue to hear the audio.

However, it doesn’t say what happens with the iPhone camera/video.

After one moves FaceTime PIP off screen, will the other person(s) on the call continue to see he/she or will the camera pause so no video is broadcasted?
 
No PIP with YouTube? That sucks. That's the app that I use PIP with most of the time on my phone.
 
I suppose I don’t have much of a problem with it, but I wonder if Jony Ive approves of what’s become a somewhat cluttered interface.
 
techfreak23 said:
I was jumping in the comments to say that myself. Here’s a link to an Apple Insider article about it.

Hopefully, YouTube doesn’t disable that in the future. They didn’t for the iPad. Here’s to hoping that they don’t for the iPhone. The fact that they get away with having it as a “premium” feature of the native app is ridiculous and is a violation of the App Store guidelines. That’s also why we will likely either never see or not see for sometime, a dark mode for the mobile version of YouTube. They don’t want to encourage use. Although the desktop version honestly isn’t bad on the 11 Pro or the iPad.
Click to expand...

huh? I have dark mode on the YouTube app on my iPhone, they didn’t skip it
 
jclo said:
Yeah, makes more sense on the iPad's larger display, but it's especially handy for FaceTime on all devices.
Click to expand...
As far as I know, PiP was already available for FaceTime calls on iPadOS 13, but yeah, it is great to be that widespread across all devices.
 
For iPhone I was really hoping for split screen video more than PiP. PiP makes sense on a big iPad screen but I think with such a small screen on the iPhone, it makes much more sense to have the video take up the entire top of the screen (in portrait orientation) and have a shorter app UI below, so that you don’t have to keep moving the video around to access the UI elements blocked by the video. I think with the smaller screen you’d be doing that too much. But that would be a lot more work to implement. Developers would all have to make a “short” version of their apps, which is a big ask. For the home screen, Apple would either have to make a short version as well, or make the split screen video moveable off screen or maybe draggable to the bottom.

My prediction is people will use PiP generally only for text scrolling apps like safari, or slide the video off screen just to keep the audio playing.
 
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