It's a popular feature on Android, especially useful if you want to watch YouTube videos while you do other things, and now Picture-in-picture (PiP) is officially coming to the desktop. As of version 70, when you're watching a video in Chrome, you'll be able to minimize it and carry on pretending to do some work.
Read MoreWhatsApp Beta 2.18.301 brings picture-in-picture video playback for YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram
WhatsApp is on one of its new-feature update rolls. In the past couple of weeks, the app has added Android Pie's native notification inline photo support, brought the swipe to reply gesture from iOS to Android, and today it's adding one more feature on our platform that our iOS friends have enjoyed for months: picture-in-picture video playback.
Read MoreAndroid P feature spotlight: Settings button added to Picture-in-Picture
There are plenty of wide-reaching changes in the first Android P Developer Preview, but there are a few smaller tweaks worth covering. Picture-in-Picture mode was first added in Android TV 7.0, and later arrived on phones and tablets with 8.0 Oreo. One of the many additions in Android P is a new settings button for PiP mode.
Read More
Pluto TV 3.5 adds picture-in-picture for Oreo, On Demand resume, and stream quality settings [APK Download]
Free television streaming service Pluto TV updated its Android app to v3.5, adding Oreo picture-in-picture support, the ability to resume previously-watched On Demand content, and settings to configure the stream quality to conserve data.
Read MoreGoogle Maps v9.68 makes indoor maps easier to spot, prepares intelligent 'out of range' warnings, and much more [APK Teardown]
For many people around the world, this is the holiday season. We're packing things up and hitting the road to visit family and friends. Most of us will put at least some part of our trip into Google's hands as we launch Maps and wait for it to tell us which turn to take next. A new version hit the beta channel yesterday to prepare for some of these road trips. There are a few new features and a boatload of items for a teardown.
Read MorePocket Casts updated with adaptive icons, Picture-in-picture, notification channels, and more
Pocket Casts, one of our favorite podcasting apps on Android and my personal go-to for the last four years, has received a nice update to version 6.4 with a bunch of Android Oreo 8.0 features and plenty of fixes.
Read MoreNetflix picture-in-picture makes its way to Android 8.1 Oreo with latest app version [APK Download]
The picture-in-picture feature was first introduced to Android with the O developer previews, but it didn't get off to a great start, namely because crucial apps like YouTube didn't support it properly. Netflix was one of those apps, but Android 8.1 has added official support for Netflix PiP.
Read MoreThe Best Of AP
VLC stable sees first major update in a year (v2.5) including an improved UI, search changes, support for Android Auto and PiP
Popular media player VLC just updated the stable branch of its Android app to 2.5, and it's one of the biggest updates in recent memory. This latest update has a dynamic new UI that better fits with Material Design guidelines, PiP mode, Android Auto support, 360-degree video support, and search improvements (including Google search integration), among a ton of other smaller features. As the first major release in over a year, we've been looking forward to it for quite a while.
Read More[Update: No longer works for YT] Tutorial: How to force Picture-in-Picture mode on Oreo for YouTube, Google Maps, Duo, and others
One of Android Oreo's best features is Picture-in-Picture mode for phones and tablets. When you press the home button while playing media (on an app that supports PiP), the video collapses to a floating window that you can move around the screen. YouTube is one of the few apps that support this feature already, but it's only enabled if you pay for YouTube Red. Thankfully, there is a way to force PiP mode for any app that supports it, including YouTube and Google Maps.
Read MoreLatest Deals
-
45
[Update: Even cheaper] The fastest microSD card you can buy for your smartphone or tablet is just $35
-
6
28 temporarily free and 62 on-sale apps and games for the weekend
-
12
Sony XB950N1 Bluetooth headphones are $113 ($137 off) today only on Amazon
-
197
[Update: Deals page is live, sales start 11/22] These are the Google Store's Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals
-
32
Plex is offering a rare 25% discount on a lifetime Plex Pass (new subscribers only)
-
45
Latest Poll
Loading ...Recent Reviews
-
96
Nokia 7.1 review: Unrealized potential
-
34
Huawei Mate 20 review: One of the best phones the US is missing out on
-
81
Palm Phone review: A tiny tragedy
-
84
Google Pixel 3 / Pixel 3 XL case reviews: Because breaking an $800+ phone would really suck
-
24
Kasa Smart Power Strip review: Six smart outlets in one package
-
96
Latest Roundups
-
1
[Bonus Round] Brain Marmelade, Kolumno, Qbik, Shuyan Saga, Cosmic Top Secret, Lovecraft Quest, and Harmony: Music Notes
-
3
20 best new Android games released this week including Teslagrad, Scanner REDACTED, and Spitkiss
-
5
18 new and notable Android apps from the last two weeks including Rivet Beta, Reachability Cursor, and the Call of Duty Companion App (10/27/18 - 11/10/18)
-
8
[Bonus Round] Cat Lady - The Card Game, Spitkiss, GlowGrid 2, Spoorky, My Talking Tom 2, and Power Rangers: All Stars
-
6
31 best new Android games released this week including Old School RuneScape, Football Manager 2019 Mobile, and Football Manager 2019 Touch
-
1
Recent Apps and Games
-
13
Assistant Routine integration in the Google Clock app is now live
-
22
Verizon 'My Numbers' lets you have multiple phone numbers on a single device for $15 each
-
6
28 temporarily free and 62 on-sale apps and games for the weekend
-
2
Sony's PlayJ app lets you screen share games and watch videos with friends [APK Download]
-
8
CrossOver for Chrome OS adds support for Quicken 2018 and Chromeboxes
-
13
Blast from the Past
-
18
1 Year Ago Today
T-Mobile launches the Galaxy S8 Active, LG V30+, and Revvl Plus today
-
60
2 Years Ago Today
CyanogenMod 14.1 nightlies make it to the Nexus 6, OnePlus One and 2, Nexus 7 2013 (WiFi), and more
-
268
3 Years Ago Today
[Update: It's Back] Google Removes Another App From The Play Store For Dodgy Reasons, This Time It's Tasker
-
104
4 Years Ago Today
You Can Now Ask Google Search To Flip A Coin Or Roll A Die
-
2
5 Years Ago Today
[The Android Police Podcast] Episode 86: Just Blow Into The Hole Satchmo!
-
33
6 Years Ago Today
Nexus 4 Toolkit Is Out - Simple Unlock, Root, Backup, Restore, And More
-
10
7 Years Ago Today
Google TV Becomes More Complete With The New Google Music App
-
7
8 Years Ago Today
Sony Ericsson X12 "Anzu" Previewed, Found To Be A "Suicide Committed By Blowing Yourself Up With A Stick Of Dynamite"
-
18
YouTube's 'miniplayer-bar' test lets you keep watching your video as you read comments
We only just wrote about YouTube's new picture-in-picture test on the web, but it's common knowledge by now that Google loves running limited tests. The world's largest video sharing site is now testing a feature it calls 'miniplayer-bar' in its code, and it's something that really should have been implemented a long time ago.
Read More