Apple revealed in the latest developers version of iOS 6 that the YouTube app will not be included when iOS 6 launches this fall. Google Maps had already been removed when Apple announced iOS 6 and their proprietary Maps app.
While the official noted reason for this omission is that the license for YouTube had ended, the constant tension between iOS and Android might also be a factor. The current Apple versus Samsung trial is not only Apple claiming infringement, but also an indirect attack on Android.
YouTube and Google Maps will be in iOS 6, but as a direct result of Google’s subsequent development of these apps that will likely mirror their current offerings that exist natively in Android.
Google’s expected response
Google will develop their own apps for both of these services and release them for iOS 6. Apple can’t block release of these apps because it would infringe on fair practice. This gives Google a doorway to showing how great Google Maps and YouTube can be without limitations imposed by Apple.
If Google Maps can match the usability that it has on Android, users may completely ignore Apple Maps. That’s probably not going to happen because of curiosity for the new Apple Maps app. It will be interesting to see the iteration cycle for both of these apps this Fall when they go head-to-head.
I imagine that YouTube will get an entire refresh so it runs both smoother and faster. Even when watching on the iPad 2, there’s a noticeable lag before videos load that doesn’t happen as often on any of the Android devices I own. YouTube is a required user app for all devices that can support it, and its removal from iOS 6 as a native app will only improve it.
What Apple could do
Apple Maps is a sturdy app in beta, and I’m sure it will get a final polish before Fall. It will probably run faster on new hardware Apple decides to release, and more smoothly on the iPhone 4S. It will be interesting to see the progression of the app from beta to final release, but with tiered data plans currently sweeping the United States, there’s a question as to how many people will continue to use navigation consistently.
I’m more curious to know if Apple will develop a streaming video app that would connect users to their iTunes/iCloud accounts so they can remove videos from their iOS devices. Could Apple partner with another streaming video site? Possibly, but they wouldn’t get the same interaction that YouTube has. Allowing Google to re-design YouTube while Apple develops a stronger streaming video app could be possible. Allowing iOS users to stream their video could be the precursor to a real Apple TV.
Wait and see
It’s unknown what Google or Apple have planned beyond the launch of iOS 6 and the release of Google Maps and YouTube. In a broader business sense, Apple may be focusing on offering a first-party-only slew of apps, like Android does with Google accounts.F or the regular user though, obtaining Google Maps and YouTube in future iOS releases should be as simple as downloading them from the App Store.
