WhatsApp has pushed a new Picture-in-Picture feature with its latest iOS update. The chat app now allows iPhone users to play YouTube videos within the WhatsApp itself. Starting Thursday, when someone sends you a YouTube link on WhatsApp, you will no longer be forced to move out of the messaging app.
Instead, the YouTube clip will play inside the small floating window within the app itself. Previously, when a user clicked on a YouTube link on WhatsApp, the app automatically redirected the user on to the YouTube app, after exiting the WhatsApp window.
However, users can play the videos within the messaging app itself. This means you get to watch YouTube videos and chat with your friends simultaneously, without facing the trouble of switching between the apps. You can as well jump between different chats without having to pause or stopping the clip.
Following the update, iPhone users can also drag the YouTube window around your screen without the footage stopping or pausing, in order to get a better view of your messages. The picture-in-picture feature will allow you to resize the window too, or switch to a full-screen mode with the tap of a button.
The new feature was expected for some time now since it was revealed in various Beta updates. WhatsApp only enabled the feature properly now with the new iOS app.
The Picture-in-Picture feature will be available on WhatsApp 2.18.11 version on iOS platform.The update was first spotted by WABetaInfo, a website that tracks WhatsApp Beta programmers.
The update is yet to come to Android and Windows platform, but it is likely that the feature will available soon now. Even without the update, some Android users can use WhatsApp and YouTube simultaneously with the help of split-screen functionality.