How to Watch YouTube videos in Picture-in-Picture mode on Apple iPhones, iPads; this is the way to get it easily now

Yes, the answer to your question about how to watch YouTube videos in Picture-in-Picture mode, has been answered. If you don’t want to wait for the rollout to reach you, here’s how to access the feature right away on your Apple iPhones and iPads.

An example of the iOS 14 Shortcut to enable picture-in-picture mode for YouTube videos.  (David Delima/HT Tech)

The picture in picture mode is a captivating feature. However, it was missing on YouTube for Apple gadget owners. But now, the answer has finally been provided and we explain to you how to watch YouTube videos in Picture-in-Picture mode on your Apple iPhone and iPads. Last year, Apple launched iOS 14 with several new features such as Home Screen widgets, App Clips, better privacy controls and Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode. The popular feature inspired from its Android counterpart, allows users to minimise their videos into a small window that floats above other apps. This means users can multitask with the floating PiP mode, which works with FaceTime, video apps and the web. Support for these floating videos has now been provided by YouTube on iOS too.

We recently reported that YouTube was rolling out support for Picture in Picture mode on iOS 14 for users in the United States, which means that users who are running iOS 14 or later on their iPhone will finally be able to view videos while using other apps, allowing for better multitasking. However, if you can't wait for YouTube to roll out the feature to your region or your Google account, there is a way to enable the feature right away – by using Apple's powerful iOS Shortcuts app.

Here's how to enable Picture in Picture mode for YouTube on iOS 14:

Step 1: On your iPhone, search for the Shortcuts app and tap the “Add” icon at the top of the screen to begin making your new Shortcut.

Step 2: On the New Shortcut creation screen that appears, first tap the “Add Action” button, and then tap on the “Web” action from the sheet that appears.

Step 3: You will then be presented with a list of actions that can be performed by Safari. From this list, click “Run JavaScript on Web Page”.

Step 4: You can now select “Web Page” as the target on the New Shortcut screen. You will also need to select “Shortcut Input” from the menu before performing the next step.

Step 5: Now you can copy and paste the following code directly inside the Shortcut window, then get ready to save your Shortcut.

let v = document.querySelector('video'); v.addEventListener('webkitpresentationmodechanged', (e)=>e.stopPropagation(), true); setTimeout(()=>v.webkitSetPresentationMode('picture-in-picture'), 3000); completion()

Step 6: Now tap the three-dot menu button at the top of the screen and save the Shortcut with the name of your choice so that it is easily identifiable. Make sure the option to “Show in Share Sheet” option is enabled, while the “Share Sheet Types” under it is set to Safari web pages.

Step 7: Save your Shortcut and go back to Safari and load any video, then tap the share button and select your new Shortcut to put your videos in Picture in Picture mode. The Shortcut will only work on iOS 14 and above, which means any iPhone 6s and above should be able to make use of this workaround.