Google is currently carrying out a full-on assault aimed at cementing its place on iOS and Apple devices. We’ve already witnessed the Apple Maps vs. Google Maps conflict, and the latest front in this ongoing war is Capture, a new YouTube app clearly aimed at usurping the current default camera app.
YouTube Capture
, which will appear simply as Capture on the homescreen of your iOS device, is designed to simplify the process of capturing, uploading, and sharing video clips recorded on mobile devices.
It’s currently only available on iOS for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but Google is already working on bringing the dedicated app to Android as well. Capture gives you multiple options in one complete app, all of which benefits YouTube, and, consequently, Google.
After recording your video clip you can label it, use enhancements such as stabilization and color correction, trim the length, and even add a soundtrack. You can then upload it to YouTube and/or share it with various social networks. All without ever having used Apple’s own camera app.
An Ongoing Battle
This ongoing battle between the big guns of Google and Apple is likely to benefit consumers. Both companies are spending more time and effort than ever before on the apps. With each side seeking to outdo the other by improving its offerings in order to persuade people to switch, the quality of all the apps increases.
YouTube Capture isn’t going to be for everyone. There will be a significant percentage of people who wouldn’t dream of uploading a video to YouTube before having the opportunity to review it and edit if necessary. Even if, as seems likely, YouTube Capture marks the videos as private by default.
However, it’s an opening salvo which will likely be followed by other, stronger salvos.
Conclusions
Will people switch away from using Apple own camera app that’s built in to iOS? I wouldn’t be surprised. YouTube has become the essential tool in pushing videos of all kinds to a wider audience, so any tool that makes the process of getting a clip onto YouTube is likely to be adopted by vast numbers of people.
[Via YouTube Blog]
