Google is beginning to extend YouTube TV’s multiview functionality to mobile platforms, with iPhones and iPads added in time for March Madness and Android coming in the months ahead. During early access, some users will see an option to simultaneously watch up to four different, though pre-selected, streams in their “Top Picks for You” section. After selecting multiview, viewers will be able to toggle audio and captioning between streams and can jump in and out of a particular game’s full screen view. YouTube TV announced multiview last month “on all devices that support multiview.”
“Over the past week, more users have noticed that YouTube TV for iPhone is showing support for multiview,” writes 9to5Google, adding that “the feature, which went live on TVs last year, allows users to watch up to four channels at once.”
Last month, YouTube TV expanded its multiview offerings, adding the NBA League Pass. In a blog post, YouTube TV says multiview will soon be coming to its NFL Sunday Ticket.
“We’ve been thinking about how to deliver this particular feature for some time,” YouTube writes, noting that “typically, multiviewing requires a high-powered device, which means it is often limited to users who have specific equipment.” Further improvements and general availability to YouTube TV subscribers can be expected “over the next several months.”
Apparently, improvements are necessary. Instruction as to how to access multiview, described by 9to5Google, say “from the YouTube TV Home tab on televisions, start a live game and then click ‘Watch in Multiview’ where ‘Build a Multiview’ should appear as the new option.”
But “this is still not as customizable as people want,” and “looks to still only be available on smart TVs and other streaming devices,” per 9to5Google.
The irony of Google rolling out the mobile feature first to iOS users is not lost on The Verge, which quips “Google’s leaving its own crowd out of watching several March Madness games while on the go.” In fairness, that is not entirely Google’s fault, but likely a reflection of Apple’s ability to quickly get multiview coded lightly enough to run on its mobile devices.
Apple started offering split screen viewing on the iPhone 6 and had mobile picture-in-picture even earlier, starting in 2015 with the iPad. Google also added those capabilities to Android, but lagged Apple by at least a year.
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