Picture in Picture is a new useful addition to iOS 9 that allows iPad users to play videos in the background while performing other tasks on their devices. Surprisingly, this feature is not available on Mac. However, you can still enable Picture in Picture mode on Mac by using steps shown below in this post.
What is Picture in Picture
As the name implies, Picture in Picture mode allows you to watch a video on your device or enjoy FaceTime conversation with your friend while you are busy with another application on your device.
The video that is playing in the background can sit in any one of the 4 corners of the iPad. The minimized video even follows the users around when they open another app. The window playing the video can be resized to make it bigger or smaller.
Surprisingly, this useful feature is not available on Mac by default. However, by using an app called Helium and by following some simple steps, you can get picture in picture on Mac.
Helium
Helium is a floating browser designed for Mac OS X and this browser allows you to open anything else on your computer while you are watching a video, just like the picture in picture mode in iOS 9 .
Helium supports Netflix, Hulu, Plex, YouTube and even allows you to play content that is locally stored on your Mac.
An interesting and thoughtful feature of Helium is the translucency mode. This allows you to make the floating window a little transparent, so that you can see through the window and see the content that’s lying underneath it.
How to Get Picture in Picture On Mac
Follow the steps below to get the Picture in Picture going on your Mac computer.
- Download the Helium app using this link.
- Open the app and from the menu bar click on Location
- Next from the drop-down menu click on Open Web URL
- Enter the URL of the video that you would like to play
- Next click on the Load button after you have entered the URL
Once the video is loaded, you can resize the Helium browser and place it anywhere on your screen and enjoy playing the video while you keep working on your Mac.
