Bloomberg reported that Apple is building its own video sharing and editing application for iOS, which is set to be released in 2017 if not scrapped in development.
According to the article, the app will enable users to record video, add filters and sketches, and share their creations with contacts and social networks in less than one minute. It also states that the app is being built by the same team that created Final Cut Pro and iMovie.
The move demonstrates the technology behemoth’s intention to better integrate its products with social networks, Bloomberg reports, which shouldn’t come as a complete surprise considering the popularity of photo and video sharing apps Snapchat and Instagram. Consider: eMarketer recently predicted that 58.6 million U.S. consumers will use Snapchat at least once a month this year—that’s 28.3% of the U.S.’s smartphone population and 18.1% of the country’s population overall. Instagram also announced that it has more than 500 million users—300 million of which use the app every day—in June.
The app in question also comes at a time of slumping iPhone and iPad sales. In July, The Verge reported that Apple sold 40.4 million iPhones in Q3 (down from 47.5 million the year before). The publication also stated that iPad sales decreased about 9% compared to the previous year. Bloomberg writes that Apple is aiming to use its range of services to boost revenue.
Still, technology companies haven’t always had the best luck launching social networks. Take Google’s Google+, for instance. According to a 2015 analysis of more than 516,000 random Google+ profiles by Stone Temple Consulting CEO Eric Enge, about 90% have never posted any content publicly. Bloomberg also points out that Apple tried launching its own social network, Ping, in 2010 but closed it two years later.
The app is currently in “preliminary development stages,” according to Bloomberg, but users will have to wait and see whether this rumor is fact or fiction. Just don’t bother asking Siri.
Me: Siri, is Apple launching a new video-sharing and editing application?
Thanks for nothing.
