The early plans are part of a newly directed focus to integrate social networking applications within Apple’s mobile products and are a response to the success of social media-focused companies such as Facebook Inc. and Snapchat Inc., according to people familiar with Apple’s strategy. The software is now being created to be used mostly with one hand and with the intention that video could be shot, edited, and uploaded in less than 1 minute, the people said.
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Next year, Apple may be rolling out a standalone camera app that will let an iPhone or iPad user record, edit (apply filters and drawings) and share video in less than a minute. The report has stressed, however, that the app may never see the light of day.
A report from Bloomberg says that Tim Cook is looking to the App Store and iCloud to compensate for Apple’s slowing hardware business. An internal prototype of the design for the app includes an Instagram-like square shape for videos, and the ability to send the media to contacts or social networks.
The app is being developed by the makers of Final Cut Pro, which is a little bit like asking Heston Blumenthal to peel the veg, but that’s none of our business. Apple hired Joe Weil, the former president of a New York-based video production company, to lead the vision for the project, the people said.
The report also mentions that the video sharing and social apps Apple is now developing could be canceled if they fail to meet Apple’s requirements. Apple is said to be considering additional social integration inside iOS that will improve sharing to contacts system-wide.
Apple is also working on consolidating communications between iPhone and iPad users.
After a failed attempt to go social with Ping in 2010, Apple may have a renewed sense of excitement over the social space, according to a report from Bloomberg.
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The analyst also anticipates the services will account for 12 per cent of Apple’s revenue and 25 per cent of gross profit by 2017, with those figures growing to 16 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively, by fiscal 2020. It appears the consensus amongst the tech giants is that Snapchat is the company to worry about.
