Introduction
With the release of iOS 14 for the iPhone in late 2020, both the iPhone and the iPad will have access to the picture in picture feature. Picture in picture makes it possible to close an app that’s playing video, and that video and its associated audio will continue playing in a minimized player while you can navigate to other apps and multitask. The only caveat is that you have to make sure the picture in picture feature is turned on in your iPhone or iPad settings, and that your app supports picture in picture. Popular apps that currently support picture in picture include FaceTime, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video. Examples of all instructions in the steps can be seen in both the YouTube video above and the image collection located beneath the steps.
Steps to Use Picture in Picture on iPhone or iPad
- Tap the “Settings” app on your iPhone or iPad home screen to open the Settings menu, and then tap “General” in that menu. The General screen is displayed.
- Tap “Picture in Picture.” The Picture in Picture screen is shown.
- Tap to turn on “Start PIP Automatically” if it isn’t turned on already. Now, you can use picture in picture on your iPhone or iPad in FaceTime or other apps that support the feature, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. You can initiate picture in picture by swiping up with your video playing to return to the home screen. You’ll return to the home screen, and your video will continue playing in a corner of your iPhone or iPad screen, where you can launch other apps and your video will still run and you’ll still hear the audio. In this example, I’ll launch the Calendar app. You can move the picture to any of the four corners on the screen, and if you want to change the size you can pinch in on the video to make it smaller, or pinch and push your fingers out to make it bigger. Additionally, you can also minimize your picture in picture window by dragging it to either the left or right edge of the screen, where you’ll just see an arrow pointing toward the center of the screen. Tapping the arrow will bring the video back onto the screen. And finally, you can return your video to full screen by tapping it to display the onscreen controls, and then tapping the maximize button.
