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iPhone Duo: Watch Video Above an App in Portrait Mode

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The iPhone Duo's two-app multitasking feature works side by side in landscape, but rotating the inner display to portrait usually drops you back to a single app. However, there is a workaround to keep a video playing above an open app in portrait, and it involves Picture in Picture.

iphone duo pip video trick
Both the inner and outer displays on the iPhone Duo share the same 1:1.4 aspect ratio, and each half of the inner display works out to roughly the same size and shape as the outer screen. That even split gives each app a canvas it already has to support, with the divider sitting neatly on the fold. The only apparent exception to this is when watching a TV show or movie above another app in portrait mode – but there's a trick to getting it working.

With your iPhone Duo unfolded in portrait orientation, follow these steps:

  1. Start playing a video in an app that supports Picture in Picture, such as Apple TV or Apple Podcasts.
  2. Tap the Picture in Picture icon to shrink the video into a floating window.
    pip

  3. Swipe up to return to the Home Screen, then open the app you want to use (note: it can't be another video app).
  4. Tap the icon that appears in the PiP window to stack the video above the open app.
    pip

It's a bit of a fiddle, but it works for most apps that support PiP. Whether Apple makes it a little easier to do in a future update remains to be seen.

Related Roundup: iPhone Duo
Buyer's Guide: iPhone Duo (Buy Now)
Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

applematte Avatar
18 hours ago at 10:07 am
You can also drag the floating PiP window up to the top middle and it will split it rather than having to tap the button.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
17 hours ago at 10:24 am

They need to allow a way to resize both windows so that if you want the video to be smaller or larger, you can make the change, even if it's very minor in how much you change it.
Yep. That should be a pretty easy software update, then maybe allow 3 haha! There are times where you just need a sliver of a app to the side and a 1/4 of the screen would work fine.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
k1121j Avatar
17 hours ago at 10:24 am
Why can't I do this on my iPhone already with PIP still plenty of room in safari for that :(
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
18 hours ago at 10:12 am
They need to allow a way to resize both windows so that if you want the video to be smaller or larger, you can make the change, even if it's very minor in how much you change it.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
18 hours ago at 10:11 am
Good to see this option. However multitasking should have been allowed in portrait mode too and more than 2 apps should be allowed in multitasking mode.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
18 hours ago at 10:08 am
I do wish portrait mode allowed the same multitasking - its my preferred orientation. I can't live with it landscape though.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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