WhatsApp is working on a new feature that will let you watch YouTube videos within the messaging app, according to WABetaInfo.
When you hit a link to a YouTube video in current versions of the app, the YouTube app will open and take over your entire screen. This functionality isn’t exactly ideal, as it prevents you from simultaneously watching the video and seeing your messages, instead forcing you to keep switching between the two apps.
People who have phones with split-screen functionality can actually view both apps at once right now, but this isn’t a widely available feature yet and the layout isn’t great anyway.
This new feature will allow users to view videos from YouTube as a picture-in-picture mode. Additionally, you can also resize the video by pinching or you can also play videos in full-screen mode. Also, you can browse through your messages inside the WhatsApp chat as well, by hiding the video on the side.
However, the report says that you cannot continue viewing the video on YouTube if you change the chat. The report also says that the feature is currently only available for Apple iPhone 6 or its higher variants. This maybe because of a need for larger display size for videos, the report said. As of now, the WhatsApp feature is available for iOS devices only and there is no information on when it will be available to the public on both iOS and Android platforms.
Credit: wabetainfo, The Independent
