Google may be direct competitor to Apple on some fronts, but this doesn’t mean the search giant is reluctant to capitalize on an opportunity when it presents itself. Fresh on news that Apple is to release the iPhone 5 shortly, Google has done nothing less than introduce a standalone YouTube app for the iPhone.
According to Google, the new app will be a major improvement on the one previously removed from iOS 6 and will include an improved channel guide; updated instant searches and recommendations as well as advanced options for social media sharing and interaction.That’s the good news. The bad news is that Google is looking to make some money off the iPhone buzz that’s coming and so users of the new YouTube app will have to endure advertising while watching their favorite video. The new status quo was precipitated after Google and Apple failed to reach an agreement over the standard YouTube app that was bundled with previous versions of iOS. I guess Google wanted greater revenue control and the only way it seemed possible was to create its own app.
Apple on the other recognizes that its users won’t be happy if they can’t access YouTube via their iPhones and so allowing Google full latitude to create an app (albeit loaded with ads) was a compromise it had to make.
Ultimately it’s the users that will determine how the new YouTube app is received and in a few weeks from now, we shall know.
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