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WhatsApp begins testing picture-in-picture mode for video calls on iOS
WhatsApp has begun testing PiP for video calls in iOS, finally giving iPhone users the ability to multitask while on calls.
There's a lot of competition in the messaging space, with plenty of great apps to choose from. WhatsApp posted on its blog, showing off some of the new features it introduced throughout the year. While adding the ability to have 32 callers on one video chat was undoubtedly a great feature, the platform also added lots of quality-of-life improvements like messaging or muting call participants with ease and Call Links, making it easy to connect with people for calls.
WhatsApp gets PiP mode for YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram videos
WhatsApp has started rolling out the picture-in-picture mode feature for all Android 4.4+ users who have updated to the latest 2.18.301 beta version.
Support for picture-in-picture mode in apps was one of the headlining features of Android Oreo. The feature already existed in some manufacturer custom user interfaces, but Android Oreo brought native support for the feature. App adoption for picture-in-picture mode was tepid at first, as even Google opted to relegate picture-in-picture mode in YouTube for YouTube Red subscribers in the beginning. Picture-in-picture mode has since been adopted by the likes of VLC media player and desktop Google Chrome. Last month, we saw that WhatsApp was working on adding such a feature. Now, the feature is available for users who have updated to the latest 2.18.301 beta version.
YouTube picture-in-picture rolling out more widely in the US for non-Red/Premium users
YouTube users in the United States without YouTube Red or YouTube Premium are starting to see picture-in-picture mode start working for them.
Google added picture-in-picture mode support for Android smartphones back in 2017 with the release of Android Oreo. For a long time, only the premium version of YouTube (be it YouTube Red or YouTube Premium) supported the feature, which means you had to pay for it. Last month, some people started noticing that the feature was available for them even though they weren't using a paid service. Today, we've noticed that PiP for YouTube is rolling out more widely.
AT&T and Verizon Samsung Galaxy S7 now receiving official Android Oreo update
Carrier models of the Galaxy S7 in the U.S. have been lagging far behind (unsurprisingly). AT&T and Verizon are finally rolling out Android Oreo to devices.
The Android Oreo rollout for the Samsung Galaxy S7 has been slow. The Exynos models started receiving the update in February, then unlocked models started getting it last month in the UK. Carrier models in the U.S. have been lagging far behind (unsurprisingly). AT&T and Verizon are finally rolling out the update to devices, according to users in our forums.
Netflix Adds Picture-in-Picture Mode Support for Android 8.1
The popular video streaming service Netflix now makes it easier to watch movies on your Android 8.1 Oreo device with picture-in-picture mode support.
One of the most useful features that came with Android Oreo is Picture-in-Picture mode for phones, which allows users to play their videos in a small, floating window. PiP mode utilizes the multi-window APIs introduced in Android 7.0. The feature first made it to Android TV devices with Android 7.0 Nougat but with Android Oreo, Google finally brought the feature to mobile devices, too.
How to Display a Picture-in-Picture Mode Toggle while using YouTube on Android O
A tutorial on how to display a toggle to enable picture-in-picture mode on a per-app basis in Android O, using Tasker and SecureTask.
In our last article, we were the first to show you how you can use Android O's new picture-in-picture (PiP) mode right now on your smartphone. To recap, the method involves sending a certain key known as KEYCODE_WINDOW which is defined by the constant 171. This key code is most readily sent by enabling the hidden navigation bar customizer in SystemUI Tuner then adding a new navigation bar item which triggers the keycode.
Android O's Picture-in-Picture Mode can be Enabled Right Now, Here's How
Android O recently introduced picture-in-picture mode, a feature allowing you to display video content on top of your apps. Here's how to enable it.
Feature image: Picture-in-picture mode on an Android TV