YouTube App Being Removed In iOS 6 By Apple

The native YouTube app has always been present on all iOS devices ever since the first iPhone was launched back in 2007. For some, it is hard to imagine an iOS device without the native YouTube app. While Google owns the popular video streaming service, the native app was developed by Apple. This app got mixed reviews and majority of the users relied on the web app that Google developed. Now it looks like Apple has had enough of this native app. The company has confirmed that it will remove YouTube app in iOS 6.

Earlier today Apple seeded iOS 6 beta 4 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to developers.This latest beta update comes with a variety of performance improvements as well as bug fixes. Early adopters of this latest beta firmware noticed that iOS 6 beta 4 does not have the native YouTube app we have also grown accustomed to on our Home screen. Sure enough, many reports on the internet corroborated this finding. Apple itself has issued a statement on this matter thus confirming that iOS 6 will not feature a native YouTube app. Apple says:

“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.”

This move from Apple might give rise to the speculation that the company may be thinking to develop its own video streaming service. Apple has already removed Google Maps from iOS 6 and has replaced it with a mapping solution that it has developed on its own. Apple Maps also feature support for 3D Maps, while mapping data is provided under contract by TomTom. Right now it may seem far fetched to say that Apple is thinking to develop a service similar to YouTube. Who knows though, it just might.

On the bright side, Google now gets to make a YouTube app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Since the native app was present, Google could only make a web app accessible through mobile Safari. Rest assured, people used the web app much more than they used the native YouTube app which had more than its fair share of issues. Soon enough, Google’s new YouTube app for iOS will be available for download in the App Store. Apple no longer has to worry about a native app that nobody seems to be using. This decision is a win-win situation for both companies.