iPhone users subscribed to the YouTube Premium Service will no longer have the leverage to sign up to test the picture-in-picture feature of YouTube as the PiP has disappeared from YouTube’s list of available experimental features, where it was previously listed with an April 8th expiry date.
A Google News Journal, 9to5Google is reporting that some users are seeing a “The feature you’re trying has been turned off” banner, a notification telling them the test has ended.
The Picture-in-Picture support is a feature available for video services at a system level for iOS users using iPhones and iPads but the YouTube support for the feature has been seen to be largely inconsistent and uneven, as it requires workarounds like watching it through a browser rather than through its native app. The YouTube Premium Test sought to solve this challenge as it made the feature much more seamless, allowing viewers continue watching after they must have navigated away from the main YouTube app.
The Test of Picture-in-Picture support for YouTube Premium users was designed to be limited and this was just the case in this context. The beta period which was initially announced in June 2021 was originally set to run its course till October 31st last year before its extension. The test meant only for Premium users, had YouTube on March 2022 inferring that in the coming months it would roll out the feature for all iOS users in the United States, and this included non-Premium users.
The end of the YouTube Premium Picture-in-Picture may yet be indicative of the Alphabet owned platform resolve to widely roll out the feature, and just last month, the Google’s Video platform brought picture-in-picture support to its YouTube TV service on iOS.
It is hoped that the Regular YouTube will not be too far behind in the real roll out.
Ayoola Faseyi, an Abuja based Journalist with interest in Technology and Politics. He is a versatile writer with articles in many renowned News Journals.
He is the Co-Founder of media brand, The Vent Republic.
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