Playing 2 videos simultaneously

Question

Is there any way to play 2 videos simultaneously (YouTube and browser video)? I am aware of the split screen feature, but when 1 video plays, the other stops.

Answer 1

TLDR: It depends on the app developer and if you are running supported hardware

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So Android devices with Google Play Services didn't require the ability to identify if the device could play multiple video streams at the same time until quite recently.

While you may be able to find some high-end/flagship devices which can play multiple video streams, developers had no guarantees about device performance for supported media.

Starting with Android 11, Google added a MEDIA_PERFORMANCE_CLASS which can inform developers that they can do such things without a poor user experience.

Android devices with Google Play Services are required to comply with the Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) for the version of Android they are released with.

From the Android 11 Compatibility Definition Document

2.2.7.1. Media

If Handheld device implementations return android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES.R for android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES.MEDIA_PERFORMANCE_CLASS, then they:

• [5.1/H-1-2] MUST support 6 instances of hardware video decoder sessions (AVC or HEVC) in any codec combination running concurrently at 720p resolution@30 fps.

Additionally each new version of Android updates the requirements in the CDD

From the Android 12 CDD:

2.2.7.1 Media

If Handheld device implementations return android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES.S for android.os.Build.VERSION.MEDIA_PERFORMANCE_CLASS, then they:

• [5.1/H-1-4] MUST support 6 instances of hardware video encoder sessions (AVC, HEVC, VP9* or later) in any codec combination running concurrently at 720p resolution@30fps. *Only 2 instances are required if VP9 codec is present.

From the Android 13 CDD:

2.2.7.1 Media

If Handheld device implementations return android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES.S for android.os.Build.VERSION_CODES.MEDIA_PERFORMANCE_CLASS, then they:

• MUST meet the media requirements listed in android 12 CDD section 2.2.7.1.

...

• [5.1/H-1-2] MUST support 6 instances of hardware video decoder sessions (AVC, HEVC, VP9, AV1 or later) in any codec combination running concurrently at 1080p resolution@30 fps.

...

The Android 13 CDD has even more performance detail if the manufacturer is going to support MEDIA_PERFORMANCE_CLASS. As you can see with each version Google is trying provide more information/guidance to developers about the device capabilities.