With this feature you can continue to watch a video and read that boring work report for the next morning. The feature does have some restrictions for now, but hopefully that’ll change soon. Note: YouTube’s Picture-in-Picture mode is currently only available in the U.S.
How to Enable Picture-in-Picture Mode
Before you start using an app in picture-in-picture mode, you’ll need to access the feature in your device’s Settings. Go to “Settings -> Apps & notifications -> Special app access.” If you don’t see this last option, you may need to tap on the Advanced option first.
To see what apps on your device support the feature, tap on Picture-in-picture. If you try to use the feature and the app won’t work, you’ll need to enable it from within the app. Go to “Apps & notifications -> App info” and choose the app in question. Look for and toggle on the picture-in-picture option.
How to Use Picture-in-Picture on Android Oreo
Let’s say that you want to watch a YouTube Video while you look at another app. If you’re using the YouTube app, the video needs to be playing before you press the home button to enable picture-in-picture. This is crucial – otherwise the feature won’t work. If you’re going to use YouTube on your browser, you’ll need to go into full-screen before pressing the Home button. YouTube makes it clear that if it’s a music video you’re watching, you’ll need YouTube Premium to use the feature. If you’re watching any other video, then the Premium version is not necessary. With VLC, to use PIP you’ll need to press the menu button while you’re watching the video and choose the Picture-in-Picture option. Each app will require you to follow different, but easy to understand, steps to activate the feature.
To move the window, just drag it to where you want to place it. If you drag it to an area that’s not valid, the window will automatically move to an area that is. If you’re going to close the window, tap on it and select the X or drag the window to the bottom of your display. By tapping on the video you can also use the on-screen controls such as pause, next video, or skip. If you want to go back to full-screen, just tap on the icon in the middle of the video.
Conclusion
While picture-in-picture mode is for every phone running Android Oreo and above, for YouTube users, the feature is only available if you are in the the U.S. Other than that, it should work with other apps that support it. How useful do you find the feature? Leave a comment below and let us know.
