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 More[Update: Official] YouTube picture-in-picture Miniplayer now being tested on the web
For a while now the YouTube app on both Android and iOS has allowed users to minimize a playing video into a floating window, letting them browse other content without interrupting playback. A similar floating mode is apparently being tested on the web now.
Read More[Update: Rolling out widely in the US] YouTube testing picture-in-picture mode for those without Red subscriptions
When Android 8.0 Oreo introduced picture-in-picture (PiP) mode, the obvious beneficiary of the new feature was Google's first-party YouTube app. Unfortunately, Google decided at the time that the advantage of nested playback was best locked behind a YouTube Red subscription. Based on recent developments, though, that may be set to change. We've seen several reports that some videos are allowing for PiP playback without a YouTube Red subscription.
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.
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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 MoreEssential Phone Oreo Beta 2 now rolling out with more 8.0 features and bug fixes
The Essential Phone might not have been our favorite, but the company has been undeniably quick with updates. Essential first rolled out the Android Oreo 8.0 beta program for the PH-1 back in November, and now, a month later, the Beta 2 OTA is rolling out. According to the changelog, this latest build includes the December security patches, Oreo features like Smart text selection, instant apps, PiP mode, Google Play Protect, as well as performance improvements and bugfixes.
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.
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Netflix 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 MoreVLC 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.
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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.
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