Chrome isn’t the first browser to support this feature natively. Opera actually had this feature since early 2016, and Safari supports it as well. However, it’s still a welcome addition to Chrome and I am going to tell you everything you need to know about it. To start with, Chrome PIP mode is still in an early stage and very limited in many ways. Only a few video websites support this feature, but as expected, it works perfectly fine on YouTube. Furthermore, even though it’s available in the Chrome right-click menu, but it’s still rather awkward to access it (at least on YouTube). No worries though, below I am going to tell you how you can activate Chrome PIP mode on YouTube. Make sure Chrome is updated to version 70 (check about page) and open up a video on YouTube. Now right-click on the YouTube video and YouTube video menu will open up. To see the Chrome right-click menu, right-click again while the YouTube video menu is open and you’ll see the Chrome right-click menu. Here you can click on the “Picture in picture” option to activate PIP mode.
The floating window can be resized to a fixed maximum size and you can drag it around by holding left-click on it. From the floating window player, you can only pause/resume the video or click on the top-right X button to close the PIP mode. To perform other actions, you’ll have to access the YouTube video actual page.
In my opinion, PIP mode in Chrome is a great addition, but it’s still way behind in terms of features and supported websites. For example, Opera PIP mode supports most HTML 5 based video websites and lets you control playback, adjust volume, play the next video, and not to mention it’s much easier to activate it. Nonetheless, Chrome PIP feature is in a usable state and definitely worth trying. What do you think about Chrome’s addition of PIP mode? Do share your thoughts in the comments below.
