Although Google Messages is the default messaging app on most Android smartphones, it’s far from being perfect. The messaging app has seen a lot of fixes and tweaks over the past few updates, such as letting users hide the Gemini toggle or adjusting the positioning of image captions, to name a few.
An APK teardown has now shown that Google Messages has silently discontinued support for floating YouTube videos in picture-in-picture (PiP) mode. The feature was first introduced to Google Messages back in 2022, with Google announcing how users can watch videos in the app whenever someone sends a YouTube link. This was designed specifically to avoid "the hassle of switching back and forth," as Google said at the time.
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Google Removes Picture-in-Picture Support
According to Android Authority, Google Message’s newest beta has accompanying code, and the text that triggered this feature has been removed. The site further reports that the stable version of the app has thumbnails, while PiP mode isn’t functional either. The report also suggests that Messages redirect to the YouTube app when trying to play the video instead of activating a floating window.
It’s worth noting that while YouTube PiP support appears to be gone from Google Messages, we haven’t received official word from the company as of now. Considering the lack of information from the company, it’s unclear what led to the removal of the feature.
Besides, YouTube is reportedly working on a new miniplayer for its app that will come with the ability to resize and move it around the screen. This would be a big change for the current YouTube app mini player, which remains fixed to the bottom and could frankly use an upgrade. Google has since confirmed that this is part of a new test available for "a small group of users."
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YouTube Testing Feature That Lets Users Brainstorm With AI
YouTube seems to be testing a new feature that will integrate Google Gemini to enable creators to brainstorm video ideas, titles, and thumbnails. The Google-owned company announced the launch of the new Brainstorm with Gemini feature in a video posted to its Creator Insider channel.
A YouTube spokesperson told TechCrunch that the new feature will be available to select creators as a part of a small, limited experiment. The platform will also take feedback from creators before deciding whether to roll out the feature to a bigger audience.
The new feature could offer the video platform an edge over other social media platforms used by creators, as it offers them something that’s not available on other platforms. Moreover, the feature makes sense for Google to fuse its AI into its video platform in order to encourage creators to use its AI tools instead of other platforms including OpenAI’s ChatGPT.