Samsung’s One UI 7 update appears to have quietly introduced a powerful new feature: live YouTube playback notifications that sync across devices — even when the video is playing on a different screen in your home. This came to light after we updated the Galaxy Z Fold SE to One UI 7. The foldable started showing live notifications for YouTube videos playing on other devices, like smart TVs.
One UI 7 brings live YouTube playback notifications across devices
This feature worked regardless of the distance between the TV and the phone. Despite the video being streamed on a TV back home, the foldable continued to show the YouTube player interface and live progress bar, even offering playback controls, all without being the active playback device.
What makes this even more interesting is that this kind of integration wasn’t spotted in the Galaxy S25 series or even in the One UI 7 beta phase for other devices. Live notifications worked for other apps but not YouTube. The stable One UI 7 update not only adds support for YouTube but also enables cross-device sync for a seamless experience.
For families and shared households, this could be a game-changer. Parents can keep tabs on what their kids are watching, even remotely, while also having the ability to pause content as needed. It also strengthens Samsung’s ecosystem approach, improving continuity between phone, tablet, and smart TV experiences.
A trade-off for YouTube as picture-in-picture goes missing
That said, this new live notification experience seems to come at a cost. YouTube’s Picture-in-Picture (PiP) no longer works while the live notification is active on your device. If you’re watching a video and minimize the app, the PiP window doesn’t appear — likely because the system prioritizes the new live notification interface instead.
This behavior is unique to YouTube, as other streaming apps like Netflix and Disney+ still support traditional PiP properly, but they lack live notification support. It’s unclear if the PiP situation is intentional or if it is something Samsung will fix with subsequent updates. We will keep a close eye on it and let you know accordingly. The One UI 7 rollout expands beyond Korea starting this Thursday, April 10.
