With the latest update to its iOS app, Hulu now supports picture-in-picture mode again. The feature had been available in September 2020, but Hulu unceremoniously removed support for it. It’s hopefully now back for good.
What Is Hulu’s Picture-in-Picture Mode for iPhone?
Picture-in-picture mode lets you continue to watch Hulu while doing other things on your iPhone. That’s because the Hulu video appears as a resizable floating window.
Thanks for reaching out! We’ve temporarily disabled this feature while we work on a few updates to provide the best experience for our viewers. We hope to have picture-in-picture officially available for Hulu on supported iPhones in the near future.
— Hulu Support (@hulu_support) February 24, 2021
The feature was first supported by Hulu in September 2020, with the launch of iOS 14, but the feature was pulled while the company worked on updates “to provide the best experience”.
Now, as spotted by MacRumors, picture-in-picture mode has returned with the latest update to the Hulu app on the iOS App Store. All you need to do is tap the picture-in-picture button when watching something on Hulu.
Other streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and Apple TV+ all support picture-in-picture.
The key missing player is YouTube; at one time the mobile web version did support it, though it currently only works on iOS 14.5 beta. Right now, there’s no sign of support for the app. It’s a different story for desktop and Android, where picture-in-picture mode for YouTube is freely available.
Let’s hope that picture-in-picture mode is here to stay for Hulu.