Chrome is expected to get a major picture-in-picture mode update
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Key notes
- We all know what Chrome's picture in picture mode is and how to use it.
- But have any of us managed to include anything else except videos, yet?
- The answer is no, but Google is working on a major update to change that.
- PIP 2.0 will supposedly allow users to play interactive HTML content in it.
Wondering what goes on behind closed doors at Google? Well, the company is planning to make a big change to Chrome’s picture-in-picture mode that will allow users to open non-video content.
And, this new version of picture-in-picture might even support interactive media contents such as images or certain types of embedded content like audio while you continue to browse the web.
Google Chrome’s existing picture-in-picture feature can only play videos. However, soon, it will be possible to play interactive HTML content in the picture-in-picture mode, making multitasking easier for users.
This new project is currently called PIP 2.0 and it aims to enable interactive HTML content in the PiP window.
Keep in mind that interactive content is a subjective term, so we don’t how the search engine giant is planning to upgrade picture-in-picture mode, but you can expect support for audio, embed, iframe, img, and more.
This is part of a series for the new picture-in-picture v2 feature that allows always-on-top windows with arbitrary content.
The CL introduces the new window subtype and sets the Z layer to show it on top of other content, and Followup CLs will add additional behavior changes.
All this information was provided by Google, as they updated one of the latest posts on Chromium.
There’s even another Chromium post stating that a new code in Chrome will hide the window frame and location bar (after a timeout) when the [PiP] window loses focus and add it again when the focus is regained.
The promise will allow a clearer async API and would offer a way to expose that interactive isn’t supported by the platform.
Google also mentioned the fact that it will disable permission prompts and autofill or similar sensitive features and also remove regular keyboard events to reduce the attack surface of the Picture-in-Picture window.
In addition to upgraded picture-in-picture, Google is also believed to be working on additional design improvements for Chrome on Windows.
Excited about this new feature for the Chrome browser? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
