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Multitask with YouTube's picture-in-picture app update

Google heard you wanted more YouTube in your YouTube, so you can now watch videos while browsing at the same time.

Sharon Profis Vice President of Content, CNET Studios
As the Vice President of CNET Studios, Sharon leads the video, social, editorial design, and branded content teams. Before this role, Sharon led content development and launched new verticals for CNET, including Wellness, Money, and How To. A tech expert herself, she's reviewed and covered countless products, hosted hundreds of videos, and appeared on shows like Good Morning America, CBS Mornings, and the Today Show. An industry expert, Sharon is a recurring Best of Beauty Awards judge for Allure. Sharon is an avid chef and hosts the cooking segment 'Farm to Fork' on PBS nationwide. She's developed and published hundreds of recipes.
Credentials
  • Webby Award ("How To, Explainer, and DIY Video"); Folio Changemaker Award, 2020
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Sharon Profis

James Martin/CNET

Want more YouTube in your YouTube? That wish just came true.

In the latest app update, an entirely overhauled UI includes a multitasking feature, letting users shrink a video while browsing the app. Call it picture-in-picture.

YouTube isn't the first to do this, however. Last year Samsung introduced this concept with a feature exclusive to its Galaxy line, letting users "pop out" a video while browsing the phone as usual. Soon after, a third-party developer mimicked the feature with an Android app.

With the greater screen real estate of today's phones, the feature fits right in.

To give multitasking a try, launch YouTube on your Android phone or tablet (the iOS app will be updated soon), and begin playing a video. Then:

  • Swipe the video down with one finger to minimize it, or tap the arrow in the upper-left corner. You can now browse YouTube as usual.
  • To maximize the video, tap it, or swipe up.
  • To quickly close a minimized video, swipe it to the left or right. You'll notice the audio fades in tune with the motion -- nice touch.

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