Rumors have been circulating in tech blog circles this week that Apple has been hard at work developing a new camera app-based social sharing tool to rival Snapchat and Instagram, to be released in 2017. On Aug. 25, Bloomberg reported that pressure from falling iPhone sales has put the heat on Apple to compete in the visual social media space.
Given the likelihood of the next generation of smartphone buyers to prioritize visual language over text-based communications, this is probably a smart move for the tech giant, especially as its competing neighbors Facebook and Google continue to grow in influence.
While platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter have already released a myriad of features allowing users to edit videos and photos, with ever-evolving options to add stickers, drawings, animations and AR enhancements, iOS' camera app editing features have up to this point been relatively basic in comparison, limited to clip trimming, cropping and a few Instagram-copped filters. According to Bloomberg's sources at Apple, the tech company will be drawing on the staff behind its Final Cut Pro and iMovie software to give the existing iOS video app a makeover that will allow users to swiftly create more interesting and shareable content.
Bloomberg's Apple sources have referred both to a "closed" use case of the video editor, to be used within iOS-specific apps like iMessage and readily shared with iPhone contacts, as well as a movement toward a more open format shortening the somewhat cumbersome steps users are currently required to take to share content created in the iOS video editor to social platforms like Twitter and Instagram.
Communicators shouldn't get too excited that they've found the next Snapchat just yet. For one, Bloomberg's sources warn that "the project could be killed if it doesn’t meet the company’s timetable and expectations." Furthermore, to avoid sacrificing trademark features for the sake of staying relevant (as with iTunes and Apple Music), Apple will need to make a choice: Is it going to be the next social platform, or is it establishing itself as a leader in creating content outside social platforms? We'll have to wait until at least next year to find out.
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