The Apple iPad features a massive, high-resolution display that is perfect for watching movies or keeping up with the news. However, watching a video typically requires dedicating the entire screen to the media player, which prevents you from simultaneously checking your email or browsing the web. To solve this, Apple introduced Picture in Picture (PiP) for iPadOS. This feature allows you to shrink a playing video down to a small, floating thumbnail window that hovers over your other apps, allowing you to multitask without missing a second of the action.
How to Enable Picture in Picture Automatically
While Picture in Picture is usually enabled by default on modern iPads, it is a good idea to verify that the automatic trigger is turned on in your system settings.
- Open the Settings app on your iPad.
- Tap on General in the left-hand sidebar menu.
- Tap on Picture in Picture on the right side of the screen.
- Ensure the toggle switch next to Start PiP Automatically is turned ON (green).
How to Trigger the Floating Window
Using the feature is incredibly intuitive and relies entirely on standard iPad navigation gestures.
- Open a supported video app (such as Apple TV, Netflix, or Safari) and start playing a video in full screen.
- While the video is playing, swipe up from the bottom edge of the screen to go to your Home Screen (the exact same gesture you always use to close an app).
- Instead of the video stopping, the app will instantly shrink down into a floating Picture in Picture window in the corner of your screen.
You are now free to open any other app, like Mail or Notes. The video will continue playing in the foreground.
Managing the Floating Window
The PiP window is fully interactive and customizable:
- Move It: Tap and hold the video window to drag it to any of the four corners of your iPad screen.
- Resize It: Use two fingers to pinch the video to make it smaller, or spread your fingers apart to expand the window’s size.
- Hide It: If the video is temporarily blocking something important, drag the window entirely off the left or right edge of the screen. The video will disappear, but the audio will continue playing. A small arrow tab will remain on the edge of the screen; tap the tab to pull the video back into view.
- Close It: Tap the video once to reveal the playback controls, then tap the X icon in the top-left corner to close the player entirely. Alternatively, tap the full-screen icon in the top-right corner to return the video to its original app.