WhatsApp rolls out PiP(video) for Android Beta

WhatsApp has started to roll out PiP feature for Android Beta users, the feature has been available for iOS users since January.

Picture-in-picture(PiP) is a feature allowing the user to watch the video in a small window while navigating through and using the app without interrupting the video. The feature would only run on Android KitKat 4.4(Beta) and versions above & the updated app’s version 2.18.301.

Android Beta program or version allows users to use pre-releases and new features being tested out by apps and platforms. If you are using the required OS and app version and still don’t see the feature, reinstalling the app might help and you might want to backup your chat history if you don’t want to lose it.

Also Read: WhatsApp may begin showing ads on it’s iOS version

This feature would support YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and streamable videos. The window can be minimized, dragged to any corner within the app and the size of the window can be changed as desired. This attribute is somewhat similar to what YouTube offers, like minimizing the window but is more flexible and customizable.

The new feature might make the user experience better as the messaging app is one of the most used apps and people are leaning towards videos these days. According to recent statistics, out of photos,vid eos and text, videos show the most engagement. Whereas the platform might lose their one of the most used apps status, by showing ads, though they plan on doing so.

With Facebook rolling out watch globally and Twitter making efforts to gain engagement on videos by showing live streams on top of the feed, WhatsApp is trying gain momentum in the race by introducing this feature.