14 DAY TRIAL // iOS 14 is now available for download on supported iPhones, and one of the highlights is a Picture in Picture mode that allows users to watch a video or continue a FaceTime call while doing something else on the device.
Needless to say, PiP modes on mobile devices aren’t necessarily new, but in the Apple world, this is quite a major addition.
And with iOS 14, it was actually possible to use Safari to watch YouTube videos in PiP mode, essentially keeping the video on the screen while running another app on the iPhone.
Of course, this was quite good news for users but it wasn’t for Google, with the search giant only allowing the Picture in Picture mode for paying subscribers. And starting this weekend, the same thing happens on iPhones too.
In other words, unless you pay for a YouTube subscription, there’s no way to use the PiP mode on your iPhone, as the Safari method has been blocked silently by the search giant.
Still possible, with a catch
YouTube Premium subscribers can continue using the Picture in Picture mode just the way they used it before this change.
According to the official terms of YouTube Premium, a subscription comes with ad-free videos, support for downloading videos to watch them offline, and background playing, which Google says makes it possible to “keep videos playing when using other apps or when your screen is off.”
In the meantime, some users claim that watching YouTube videos in PiP mode is still possible as long as the video itself isn’t loaded from Google’s service but from a website where they have previously been embedded.
On the other hand, it’s probably just a matter of time until a block for this video is implemented as well, so in the long term, the only way to go is probably paying for a subscription.