Mysterious icon when pausing Apple TV app

I'm using the TV app on my Apple TV to watch Apple TV+ content.

Whenever I Pause, Skip Forward, or Skip Back using the Apple TV remote, a strange icon immediately pops up above the playhead.

  • I have never seen this icon when using other Apple TV video apps such as Netflix or Plex.

  • I do not seem to be able to interact with the button. Clicking the remote Pauses normally, as if the button was not on the screen.

What does this icon represent? How do I interact with it? Why does it pop up when I pause the TV+ app on my Apple TV?


icon


Solution 1:

It is the new picture-in-picture feature of the Apple TV app in tvOS 13.

Can't decide what to watch? Use picture-in-picture viewing to play two videos at once, or browse the Apple TV app while a video plays in the corner of your screen.

Details:

https://support.apple.com/en-in/HT210525

  1. Play a movie or TV show in the Apple TV app.
  2. Tap the Touch surface on your Siri remote to bring up the video timeline.
  3. Swipe up on the Touch surface to highlight the icon, then click the Touch surface to select it. If you don't see the icon, you're not in the Apple TV app and picture-in-picture isn't supported.
  4. The video will shrink to the bottom-right corner of your screen.

To watch another video in full screen while your video window plays in the corner, find something else to watch in the Apple TV app and just click play.