WhatsApp has been testing a new feature for its Android app that will enable users to view videos hosted on select platforms using the Picture-in-Picture or PiP mode. This feature wasn’t available in the 2.18.234 Android beta version but improvements have since been made to it and now the feature has been enabled for all users who use the beta version.
Bear in mind that this feature is currently available only in the 2.18.301 Android beta version of the WhatsApp app. The PiP mode hasn’t been rolled out to the final version of the app as yet. It may be tested in beta stage for a couple of weeks before it’s rolled out.
Even if you have an older beta version installed, simply update to the latest beta from the Play Store and you should be able to use the PiP feature. It appears to work with videos from the likes of YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
This feature will thus be very useful as these platforms are widely used for video consumption on mobile devices. Twitter doesn’t seem to be supported as tapping on a Twitter video will launch the app instead of the PiP video.
The PiP window will disappear if the user switches to another chat window. This doesn’t happen on iOS so it’s likely that this minor glitch will be fixed in due course. As for when this feature will be added to the stable version of the app remains to be seen.