How to Use Picture in Picture Mode in iOS 14

Jun. 26, 2020

How to Use Picture-in-Picture Mode in iOS 14

I know many of you may be quite familiar with PiP mode as it’s been around for several years. As is usually the case, there could be more than a handful of iOS users who might not have come across this multitasking feature. So, it would be apt to get the basics out of the way first up.

Picture-in-Picture playback is a multitasking feature designed to let you watch your favorite video while still carrying out other tasks likebrowsing the web, messaging, ortaking a note. Imagine a situation where you are watching an exciting flick, suddenly an important message hits your inbox.

Now, you wish to reply to the message but don’t want to halt yourbinge-watching. Wouldn’t you prefer to carry out both the tasks simultaneously? Most probably, you would. This is where the PiP mode aka floating video has a role to play.

PiP allows you to play a video in a moveable, resizable window that you can float over the apps onscreen. Thus, you can comfortably kill two birds with one stone!

Right now, there are only a few apps that support Picture-in-Picture mode in iOS 14. They are –Safari, Apple TV, Podcasts, FaceTime, Music App, Home, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix.

I guess many of you would be wondering whether the iOS 14 PiP mode is working with YouTube or not. Well, the video-sharing app does support the latest iteration of iOS, but there is a catch. As of now, Google’s video-sharing platform works only through Safari. It’s worth noting that only YouTube Premium subscribers can stream the audio of a YouTube video in the background on iOS.

Nevertheless, there is no need to lose sleep as Google may soon add the support for iOS 14 considering how popular thevideo-sharing platformis among iPhone users. So, keep your fingers crossed.

To offer a seamless experience, the PiP mode is enabled by default. So, the next time you want to browse the web while still catching up with your favorite flick, you can get started with this multitasking feature right away.

1. To get started, launcha supported app.

2. Now, play your favorite video. In this guide, I’m usingSafarias it supports PiP on iOS. After playing the video, tap on thefull-screen button.

3. Most supported video apps featurea PiP buttonso that you can tap on it to activate the PiP mode on your iOS 14 device. Besides, the video will automatically get minimized when you navigate to the Home screen of your iPhone.

(On the Face ID supported iPhone, swipe up from the Home bar to head over to the Home screen. On the Touch ID supported iPhone, press the Home button.)

4. Now, you can drag the PiP video at the desired corners and get on with the task.

Depending on your needs, you can customize the PiP video and even hide it whenever you find it interrupting your task.

Once you are in PiP mode, you can not just drag it at the desired corners but also resize it. To do so,use two fingers(pinch in/pinch out) to expand and shrink its size.

While playing the video in PiP mode on your iOS 14 device, you can adjust the speed and even pause the video. To fine-tune the speed, tap on the 15 seconds forward/backward button to go back and forth. To pause the video, hit the play button. To kickstart the video, tap on the play button again.

If you ever want to switch back to the full screen, hit the PiP mode button at the top right corner of the floating video.

While watching the video in the PiP mode, if you ever find the video interrupting your activity, you can easily hide it. Simply swipe the floating video to the left or right edge of the screen. Even when the video is hidden, you can continue to listen to the audio.

At any time you want to unhide the PiP video, you can do so with ease. Just tap on the tiny handle to pop it out.

If you no longer want to watch the video, tap on the “X” button at the top left of the floating window.

As mentioned above, the YouTube app doesn’t support PiP mode on iOS. However, you can play it through Safari. Simply, open Safari ->youtube.com-> play a video -> tap on full screen button -> navigate to the Home screen of your iOS device.

If you are talking about using PiP inside WhatsApp, it already works. But if you want to use Right PiP WhatsApp on home screen, currently doesn’t support it. But given the popularity of this cool playback mode, we expect the messaging app to get on board once the official version of iOS 14 rolls out.

So that’s how you can make the most of Picture-in-Picture mode on your iOS device to enhance multitasking experience. Right now, there are only a handful of apps that support PiP playback. I, however, expect most video apps to get the support by this fall. Packed with a range of cool features likeBack TapandApp Library, iOS 14 has won a lot of praise from fans. What’s your take on this latest iteration of iOS? Feel free to share your valuable thoughts with us.

An old school bibliophile who turned a tech nerd out of obsession. When he is not digging into hacks and tracking down stories that are breaking the internet, you may find him reciting poems.