War? YouTube app disappears from iOS 6 beta 4 as Apple breaks Google ties

This is actually a really GOOD development.<p>It means the current app, which was made by Apple for iOS 1 and barely updated, can now be replaced by a Google-made YouTube app available in the App Store.<p>The new app will presumably also support all of YouTube's new features since 2007, notably videos with ads (i.e. music videos).<p>Remember, the only reason the app was ever built-in is because the App Store didn't exist on the first iPhone. Separating it into the App Store will also make it easier to update regularly (see Apple's own iBooks app).<p>I wrote more about this in my wish list for iOS 6: <a href="http://raviudeshi.com/2012/06/ios-6" rel="nofollow">http://raviudeshi.com/2012/06/ios-6</a>

Good riddance, the YouTube app was terrible. (And that's from someone who regularly watches YouTube videos.)<p>Because of its insistance that I watch YouTube not in the browser but inside the app, it's the only default app I forcefully removed by turning it off in parental controls.

Google may very well want more control over <i>its</i> YouTube app, including the ability to update it at will (normal AppStore processing aside), and Apple may be pleased to relinquish responsibility.<p>The YouTube app seemed necessary to jumpstarting iOS interest in users way back when ... which is way back when now, and the need for bundling is past.<p>Not war. Maturity.

I don't think this has anything to do with Apple killing Google Maps. In that case, Apple could build an alternative relatively easily (acquisition and so on). In this case, noone has an alternative to YouTube. If this is Apple sticking it to Google again, I'll be very surprised.<p>Edit: Apple has issued a statement (<a href="http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/6/3223775/apple-youtube-ios6" rel="nofollow">http://www.theverge.com/2012/8/6/3223775/apple-youtube-ios6</a>)<p>"Our license to include the YouTube app in iOS has ended, customers can use YouTube in the Safari browser and Google is working on a new YouTube app to be on the App Store."

I don't care about the YouTube app as long as embedded flash youtube videos are still redirected to the embedded plugin.<p>In Mountain Lion, there is now a share button that goes to Vimeo but there is no YouTube option. This equals the playing field a little for other video companies.

About time, I have always stashed that in an unused folder. It's a nearly useless app that can't be deleted, so it's in the unused folder along with Stocks, Compass, iTunes, and Game Center. Having the browser jump to the app just because you click on a link was very annoying, doubly so when the mobile site was just as functional.<p>Worst case the perfectly usable website will be there, but Google's YouTube app will likely be a lot better and have the ability to be updated.

I wonder if this is going to muck up the ability to post a video to YouTube natively from the OS. Meaning that rather than posting from the photo / video viewer you will now have to open the YouTube app to post.

Anyone else annoyed by this and their new iMap application?<p>Their iMap app does not translate well on the web like the previous Google Map app did. When I am on a website that has a map link, it no longer opens up the built in map app nor maps direction from my current location. Since Google Maps is used across the web, when I click on a link it now takes me to Google Maps in the browser. But, that doesn't automatically map directions for me nor do turn by turn navigation.<p>This change and a few others in iOS6 have degraded my iPhone user experience.

I'd be happy to see the native Google Youtube app allow me to copy a video URL. It is extraordinarily difficult to make such a simple thing happen on iOS right now.

People here that are saying this isn't war are being silly. Apple's Google hatred is now being kicked into high-gear. The battle is in multiple fronts including court rooms world-wide as well as removing as much Google as they can from iOS and Mountain Lion.<p>The main thing I don't understand is why is Google not fighting back completely. Why would they make a YouTube app that makes the iOS platform more attractive? Why not block iOS devices from accesing Youtube altogether, as well as Gmail and even Search? Apple is dead set on trying to kill Android but Google isn't trying to kill iOS, it's weird.

It's now possible to play YouTube videos without Flash, so the dedicated app is no longer a necessity to watch YouTube videos on iOS. With that in mind, calling this "war" seems a bit over the top.

This is unfortunate news, since the Youtube app was the last place to consume my content without ads filling up the videos or even annotations popping up every few seconds to click to a different video. Youtube on the web is a whole different experience, and with Google trying to monazite this mobile market, I can't see Google's own app being a better experience.

YouTube mobile site works better. Many videos won't play in the app (publisher hasn't authorized this video for mobile viewing) that will play in the mobile site. And pretty much all videos play if you select the "Desktop" link at the foot of the mobile site.<p>So, as commenters on that article said, use Parental Restrictions to forbid YouTube app and enjoy it in Safari directly.

Interesting. As I understand it Google, realising the increased importance of mobile, developed Android to ensure that phone manufacturers would not be able to lock Google's services out, or provide and encourage alternative services. By making their own platform they can push their services to the forefront.<p>But in doing so they antagonized Apple with whom they had a good relationship, and now find their services being replaced or dropped (first maps and now YouTube, and iOS 6 and Mountain Lion not including Google sharing options).<p>Given that Google makes four times as much money from iOS then it does Android [1] I wonder if this was a good plan? If Apple replaced Google search with Bing as the default, it would have to hurt a lot. On the other hand if Apple did all this anyway but Google didn't have Android up its sleeve it would be in a much worse situation then it is now.<p>[1] <a href="http://gizmodo.com/5897457/google-makes-four-times-more-money-from-ios-than-android" rel="nofollow">http://gizmodo.com/5897457/google-makes-four-times-more-mone...</a>

Probably the best move for all parties involved.<p>The Youtube mobile site has better and more complete functionality. But that was completely missing on the native app.<p>Unless you didn't use suscriptions, check comments, etc. The native app, worked perfectly.

If they want to really twist the knife, include the Vimeo app by default.

<a href="http://www.hyperswitching.com/post/28849912133/on-why-apple-removed-youtube" rel="nofollow">http://www.hyperswitching.com/post/28849912133/on-why-apple-...</a> my posting about this :-)

Hehe. No Flash, no YouTube... sounds boring. Good to see the predictable fanboy response around here, just like when they declared war on Adobe.

Hopefully they don't delete it from Apple TV too.

As a sidenote, there is a Rickroll in the latest iOS 6 beta release notes when discussing the YouTube changes.

Since we're all piling on the current YT app here's my all time favorite: your video ended, let's immediately cut to summary screen; oh you want to watch it again? It's still in memory but let me start buffering it again and randomly hang or crash. Back in the EDGE days, ehrmagahd/rageface/first world problems!1

That weird TV icon says it all about YouTube app.<p>Its makers parted ways and it was left unloved.

next up mail.<p>If you read the text it was "our license was up."<p>Basically in the first iPhone Apple licensed a bunch of apps from Google to create the iPhone ecosystem, Maps, Mail, Search, video, and one other which I've forgotten. That was when they were friends, now they hate each other, so Apple has been building its own replacements. And I'm sure when the license renewal came up Apple took a harder stance.<p>Youtube and the mail client are pretty much the last things to go. That was part of the reason I was surprised Apple didn't pick up Sparrow. When Google got it I said "aha" this will be the Mail tool from Google that you can get in the App store when Apple dumps them off the phone.

Did Apple somehow manage deliberately to restrict Youtube search results of songs to live performances in its Youtube app? I rarely get the music videos as first search results. If Google can get around that in its iOS youtube app, then I'll be a happy man...

On the iPad at least, I prefer using the desktop version of youtube.com. It works better than the app, and more videos seem to be available due to inane restrictions on "mobile" video viewing in the app and mobile web site.