- The in-app Messages YouTube player was introduced back in October 2022.
- Google’s latest Messages beta reflects the removal of the YouTube PiP player.
Google giveth, and Google taketh away. Back in 2022, Google had prepared a major refresh to its Messages app, introducing the icon for it we still use today, and giving it a bunch of new features, including the ability to reply to specific messages, and improved SMS emoji reaction support. Unfortunately, not all of them have stood the test of time, and it looks like Google has just killed off the app’s support for YouTube picture-in-picture (PiP) playback.
The thinking behind introducing this feature in the first place made enough sense: text a friend a YouTube link, and they’d see a preview of the video with a thumbnail. Tap on that, and Messages would launch a floating PiP playback window so you could easily check out a clip without being fully pulled away from your conversation.