Xiaomi removes YouTube background playback on its smartphones 📺

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Until now, it was possible to play YouTube videos in the background for free on Xiaomi smartphones. But with the system update, this feature is now a thing of the past.

Compliance with Google’s requirements 📑

If you want to play YouTube videos in the background, you absolutely must have a YouTube Premium subscription, unless you have a Xiaomi smartphone. Up until now, Xiaomi users have been able to enjoy this feature for free.

Introduced with MIUI 12, two features were prized by many Xiaomi users: « Play video sound with screen off » and « Turn off screen » from the Game Toolbox. Thanks to these features, Xiaomi users could watch YouTube videos with the screen off. This meant they didn’t need to pay for a Spotify or Apple Music subscription to enjoy their favorite music. However, as mentioned in the introduction, this feature is not free on YouTube. To get it, you need to subscribe to YouTube Premium at €12.99 per month. We can imagine that Google, owner of YouTube and Android, was not very happy to see millions of people enjoying this option for free.

As a result, Xiaomi seems to have been reminded and will be removing this feature. All models from MIUI 12 onwards appear to be affected.

Modèles concernés par la mise à jour. – Source : Xiaomi

Are you a Xiaomi user? If so, what do you think of this measure? Tell us in comments.