YouTube Picture-In-Picture Works On Firefox For Android Again
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Summary
- YouTube’s picture-in-picture (PiP) feature, which allows users to watch videos in a floating window while using other apps, had been broken for Firefox users on Android for about a month.
- The issue, tracked as bug 1956165 and reported by frustrated users on Bugzilla and Reddit, prevented the miniplayer from being triggered.
- Firefox has now released version 138.0.2 for Android, which explicitly addresses and fixes the YouTube PiP bug.
Picture-in-picture (PiP) is one of YouTube’s most appealing features. Not only does the feature allow you to keep an eye on your favorite YouTube content while you browse through other areas of your smartphone, it also gives users easy-to-use controls to seamlessly pause, rewind, and skip sections of the video right from the miniplayer.
The PiP view can also be resized to don a bigger look than the default, a feature that the layout gained in July last year.
Related
PiP works via the YouTube app, but also if YouTube is opened through some of your favorite browsers.
For reference, via the app, users can trigger PiP by playing a video and then exiting back to their home screen by pulling up on the navigation bar (the exact procedure may vary depending on your device). Via browsers, though, users need to ensure that they first go into full-screen mode before exiting back to the home screen. The end result, however, remains the same — a floating window that allows users to continue watching YouTube content while simultaneously using other applications.
The issue
For the past month or so, though, Firefox users on Android have been experiencing a frustrating issue — they’ve been unable to trigger the miniplayer. The issue has clearly been a source of frustration for users, who first began reporting it on Bugzilla and Reddit roughly a month ago. Using YouTube via your phone’s browser is definitely an inferior experience compared to the dedicated app. However, access to extension for skipping ads make the trade-off worth it.
The fix
The issue, tracked as bug 1956165 by Firefox, has now been fixed, as highlighted by the browser giant yesterday.
Firefox released version 138.0.2 for Android yesterday, with accompanying release notes explicitly stating that the PiP bug has been fixed. “Addressed an issue with picture-in-picture not working on YouTube on Android,” read the notes.
I’ve downloaded and installed the update via Google Play on two of my devices, and I can confirm that PiP functionality is back. If the update isn’t available for you on the Play Store yet, sideloading the app for immediate access is a viable solution.
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