1. webber27's Avatar
    Had a funny conversation with a friend today, I didn't even realize what I was taking for granted. We were hanging out and listening to some music on youtube on my phone. Something came up that we wanted to check on facebook. Our conversation went as follows (I have a Q5 and she has a Samsung GS3):

    Me: Give me a second, I'll check.

    Her: No wait, let me get my phone from the other room.

    Me: Why?

    Her: So the music doesn't stop.

    Me: What?

    Her: If you open facebook the music will stop.

    Me: Huh?? (by this time I'd already pulled up what we were looking for)

    So today to my surprise I learned that Android phones can't open another app while keeping YouTube playing simultaneously. Seriously always took that for granted. She was likewise shocked that it wasn't a problem for me. Google owns both Android and YouTube, shouldn't they have figured this out?? I can say that today is the first time my friend was officially jealous of my phone. Score one for BB10!

    Posted via CB10
    11-23-14 06:29 PM
  2. zehkaiser's Avatar
    I doubt it's that android can't do it. It's that the app is designed that when it loses focus it pauses.

    Posted via CB10
    sentimentGX4 likes this.
    11-23-14 06:32 PM
  3. RoseBud68's Avatar
    Cool story bro.
    app_Developer and mister2d like this.
    11-23-14 06:36 PM
  4. m3mb3rsh1p's Avatar
    This is one of my favourite features of BB10. There are "youtube apps" on Android that allow background playback, though.

    What is more important here is that it shows just how played out the whole "App ecosystem" is. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Google Maps all have fully functional websites, even mobile versions. They all started as web services and the apps are written after the fact. With good web standards, we wouldn't need separate apps for everything, just great web browsers and Operating Systems to access these services. e.g push notifications that the apps provide.
    11-23-14 06:37 PM
  5. webber27's Avatar
    I doubt it's that android can't do it. It's that the app is designed that when it loses focus it pauses.

    Posted via CB10
    Point is, she as a user can't do it with her Android. I was asking her more, and the same thing applies if she's watching youtube with her browser so it's not specific to just the app. I wonder why they've done that.

    Posted via CB10
    RandyArsenault likes this.
    11-23-14 06:37 PM
  6. webber27's Avatar
    This is one of my favourite features of BB10. There are "youtube apps" on Android that allow background playback, though.
    I should tell her this. Or better yet, I won't tell her and tempt her to buy a BB10 :P

    Posted via CB10
    11-23-14 06:39 PM
  7. Tre Lawrence's Avatar
    This is one of my favourite features of BB10. There are "youtube apps" on Android that allow background playback, though.

    What is more important here is that it shows just how played out the whole "App ecosystem" is. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Google Maps all have fully functional websites, even mobile versions. They all started as web services and the apps are written after the fact. With good web standards, we wouldn't need separate apps for everything, just great web browsers and Operating Systems to access these services. e.g push notifications that the apps provide.
    It's hard to overlook the importance of a good ecosystem.
    11-23-14 06:52 PM
  8. Toodeurep's Avatar
    What the Playbook OS could do would double BB10. A shame really, I absolutely loved this about the PBOS.
    nick13b and scrapmetal58 like this.
    11-23-14 07:24 PM
  9. donnation's Avatar
    Its not Android, its the app they are using. There are tons of them that will play in the background. Just like you can download a youtube app that will play in the background for iOS, you can do the same with Android.
    11-23-14 07:49 PM
  10. Witmen's Avatar
    I'm honestly not sure if YouTube videos playing in the background is a feature of BB10 or just a sign of how unpolished it is.

    As far as I know, any mobile operating system made these days is capable of running a YouTube video in the background, but most don't because users usually watch videos, not just listen to them. It is by design, not necessarily a limitation.

    I'm sure it requires more work to make the video pause automatically once it has left the foreground than it is to just leave it running. This so called advantage of BB10 is more than likely the result of them being too lazy to add the extra lines of code to cause videos to pause.

    Think of it like this, what smartphone these days can't play audio in the background? Would audio from a YouTube video be any more difficult to play in the background than what audio from Pandora is?

    Another thing that leads me to believe this "feature" has more to do with laziness than anything else is how poorly it works on BB10. With other operating systems such as Jolla Sailfish and the PlayBook Tablet OS, you can both watch and listen to minimized YouTube videos.

    I'm not so sure this is something to brag about.
    11-23-14 08:07 PM
  11. BBUniq01's Avatar
    I'm honestly not sure if YouTube videos playing in the background is a feature of BB10 or just a sign of how unpolished it is.

    As far as I know, any mobile operating system made these days is capable of running a YouTube video in the background, but most don't because users usually watch videos, not just listen to them.

    I'm sure it requires more work to make the video pause automatically once it has left the foreground than it is to just leave it running. This so called advantage of BB10 is more than likely the result of them being too lazy to add the extra lines of code to cause videos to pause.

    Think of it like this, what smartphone these days can't play audio in the background? Would audio from a YouTube video be any more difficult to play in the background than what audio from Pandora is?

    Another thing that leads me to believe this "feature" has more to do with laziness than anything else is how poorly it works on BB10. With other operating systems such as Jolla Sailfish and the PlayBook Tablet OS, you can both watch and listen to minimized YouTube videos.

    I'm not so sure this is something to brag about.
    ????

    Posted via Q10 with 1154
    11-23-14 08:15 PM
  12. southlander's Avatar
    Its not Android, its the app they are using. There are tons of them that will play in the background. Just like you can download a youtube app that will play in the background for iOS, you can do the same with Android.
    So shouldn't that person with the Android phone know that? If they don't know how to customize it that kind of defeats the idea of the vast amount of choices on android being able to solve any problem. An unknown solution may as well not exist in that case.

    Z10STL100-4/10.3.1.1151
    11-23-14 08:24 PM
  13. donnation's Avatar
    So shouldn't that person with the Android phone know that? If they don't know how to customize it that kind of defeats the idea of the vast amount of choices on android being able to solve any problem. An unknown solution may as well not exist in that case.

    Z10STL100-4/10.3.1.1151
    I guess she could look it up on the web?I doubt it's that big of a deal to her or she would have looked for a solution.
    kolowosh likes this.
    11-23-14 08:28 PM
  14. Tre Lawrence's Avatar
    I guess she could look it up on the web?I doubt it's that big of a deal to her or she would have looked for a solution.
    As Witmen stated, having YouTube playing in the background may not be that high on the list for most people.

    I'm guessing that, as noted, most folks watch YouTube.
    TgeekB likes this.
    11-23-14 09:29 PM
  15. Jose Casiano's Avatar
    I like that feature and most of my friends which they had that feature. Great thing about it is that you can play pause when minimize with volume keys. But yeah you would have to get another app that would allow it. But it's baked in and I use if a lot when researching on my phone.

    Posted via CB10
    11-23-14 09:35 PM
  16. zehkaiser's Avatar
    I'm honestly not sure if YouTube videos playing in the background is a feature of BB10 or just a sign of how unpolished it is.

    [...]

    This so called advantage of BB10 is more than likely the result of them being too lazy to add the extra lines of code to cause videos to pause.
    I don't think that is it at all. Let's compare how you close an app on both systems. In BB10 you swipe up, and instantly see that the app is still running. If I wish to close it, I just click the X.

    On Android I can leave the app quickly by tapping the Home button. Now how do I know which apps are still running? Either the multi task button or holding the home button. Then I can scroll through the list and swipe away a running app.

    My wife NEVER closes her apps on android. She would find it an inconvenience to "close" YouTube and the video kept playing in the background. The behaviors are both intentional to match the system.

    Posted via CB10
    11-23-14 09:44 PM
  17. slagman5's Avatar
    I'm honestly not sure if YouTube videos playing in the background is a feature of BB10 or just a sign of how unpolished it is.

    As far as I know, any mobile operating system made these days is capable of running a YouTube video in the background, but most don't because users usually watch videos, not just listen to them. It is by design, not necessarily a limitation.

    I'm sure it requires more work to make the video pause automatically once it has left the foreground than it is to just leave it running. This so called advantage of BB10 is more than likely the result of them being too lazy to add the extra lines of code to cause videos to pause.

    Think of it like this, what smartphone these days can't play audio in the background? Would audio from a YouTube video be any more difficult to play in the background than what audio from Pandora is?

    Another thing that leads me to believe this "feature" has more to do with laziness than anything else is how poorly it works on BB10. With other operating systems such as Jolla Sailfish and the PlayBook Tablet OS, you can both watch and listen to minimized YouTube videos.

    I'm not so sure this is something to brag about.
    Yah, and the play/pause button still works to control it, and the volume keys as well. Totally unintentionally...
    11-23-14 11:17 PM
  18. slagman5's Avatar
    I guess she could look it up on the web?I doubt it's that big of a deal to her or she would have looked for a solution.
    Some people just accept it as something they cannot do rather than actually proactively searching for a solution.
    Last edited by BigBadWulf; 11-24-14 at 02:31 PM. Reason: removed potentially offensive remark
    KarlosSpicyWienr likes this.
    11-23-14 11:20 PM
  19. theRock1975's Avatar
    Software systems developer here.

    I've worked with low-level audio a lot and I know this topic inside out. Audio is very sensitive to jitter because of the small buffer(memory) of dsp chips.

    Android can play the YouTube concurrently but it will likely have lots of stuttering while you use other apps. This is due to thread starvation.

    The PlayBook and BB10 do it better because the kernel is RTOS and latency is minimal.

    When it comes to latency, BB10 will always beat Apple and Android. Emails show up faster, texts come quicker,... On the other hand, put QNX on a server and run a throughput Benchmark, it won't win.

    Posted via CB10
    11-23-14 11:44 PM
  20. --TommesJay--'s Avatar
    I'm honestly not sure if YouTube videos playing in the background is a feature of BB10 or just a sign of how unpolished it is.

    As far as I know, any mobile operating system made these days is capable of running a YouTube video in the background, but most don't because users usually watch videos, not just listen to them. It is by design, not necessarily a limitation.

    I'm sure it requires more work to make the video pause automatically once it has left the foreground than it is to just leave it running. This so called advantage of BB10 is more than likely the result of them being too lazy to add the extra lines of code to cause videos to pause.

    Think of it like this, what smartphone these days can't play audio in the background? Would audio from a YouTube video be any more difficult to play in the background than what audio from Pandora is?

    Another thing that leads me to believe this "feature" has more to do with laziness than anything else is how poorly it works on BB10. With other operating systems such as Jolla Sailfish and the PlayBook Tablet OS, you can both watch and listen to minimized YouTube videos.

    I'm not so sure this is something to brag about.
    When I play a YouTube video in FastTube, minimize it and start playing music, I have the video audio and music play together simultaneously, just like on a PC. IMO this is exactly how this should work.

    Posted via CB10
    anon(5990673) likes this.
    11-24-14 01:26 AM
  21. Soulstream's Avatar
    There are apps in Android that allow to play videos in the background. I read that the latest official youtube app now has the ability to do so, but it is US-only for now.

    I also think it is a design decision not to allow official youtube app to play music in the background. Might have something to do with data costs in case you forget you had it on.
    Witmen likes this.
    11-24-14 03:11 AM
  22. Witmen's Avatar
    Yah, and the play/pause button still works to control it, and the volume keys as well. Totally unintentionally...
    Really? It never did that when I was using BB10. Do you remember when did those play and pause buttons start controlling it? The last time I used BB10, which I admit that I am behind on updates, you minimized the browser and whatever was on screen became frozen and audio continued to play. I had no control over it except for volume, and it seemed very unintentional. Glad to see that they are making improvements like that though.

    Does the video still freeze on the screen or does it now work like the PlayBook and Sailfish OS where the video can both be watched and listened to at the same time while minimized?

    For those of you who don't use Sailfish OS, this is what I'm talking about:

    Last edited by Witmen; 11-24-14 at 05:28 AM.
    Bilaal likes this.
    11-24-14 04:43 AM
  23. toc610's Avatar
    Well I just had a long talk with a support person about my phone settings and I could effortlessly put the speaker on, swipe away from the phone app on my passport and open settings, go thru the settings with him and end the conversation by making a note of his name for future reference. All while speaking with him in a calm and controlled manner.
    I don't think I have been able to that with another phone before - at least not so easily
    Just saying.

    From my mighty PassPort
    11-24-14 09:21 AM
  24. slagman5's Avatar
    Really? It never did that when I was using BB10. Do you remember when did those play and pause buttons start controlling it? The last time I used BB10, which I admit that I am behind on updates, you minimized the browser and whatever was on screen became frozen and audio continued to play. I had no control over it except for volume, and it seemed very unintentional. Glad to see that they are making improvements like that though.

    Does the video still freeze on the screen or does it now work like the PlayBook and Sailfish OS where the video can both be watched and listened to at the same time while minimized?

    For those of you who don't use Sailfish OS, this is what I'm talking about:

    I don't know about when the play/pause started working, I always remembered it working. The video image does freeze though unfortunately.

    ?Posted without the aid of AutoCorrect with my physical keyboard via CB10
    Witmen likes this.
    11-24-14 09:38 AM
  25. Playbook007's Avatar
    All I know that if it was the other way around it would be a "HUGE" issue!

    Posted via CB10
    11-24-14 09:42 AM
75 123

Similar Threads

  1. should android apps moved to sd card run?
    By patapoof in forum BlackBerry Passport
    Replies: 32
    Last Post: 01-13-15, 09:54 PM
  2. Replies: 13
    Last Post: 11-30-14, 12:04 PM
  3. Android app
    By jens_tahoe in forum BlackBerry Z10
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 11-23-14, 04:36 PM
  4. Android apps on the Passport
    By David Theado in forum BlackBerry Passport
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 11-23-14, 11:06 AM
  5. Natwest for Android bug report
    By Acvdm in forum BlackBerry 10 Apps
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 11-23-14, 10:19 AM
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD