As we ease into August, the rumors about Apple’s next iPhone continue to circulate — especially as folks debate whether they should wait for Apple or pull the trigger on an Android smartphone. Lots of the chatter right now is more about what may not be in the next iPhone than what will be in it.
There will be no pre-installed YouTube app in the next version of the operating system, according to a report at 9 to 5 Mac that was subsequently confirmed by the Verge.
Apple said that its license from YouTube to include the app in iOS has expired, though users can watch YouTube through the Web browser. YouTube will be developing its own app for devices running iOS 6, the company told 9 to 5 Mac, and Engadget reported that the current YouTube app will still be available on all devices running iOS 5.
This could actually be good news for Google, which has updated the YouTube app on Android devices to showcase its channel initiative and make the whole video-watching experience a little crisper. But there’s a case to be made that Apple is deliberately pulling away from its partnership with Google.
Apple has already introduced its own maps program for its next operating system, taking over for Google Maps. So while Google continues to make several prominent apps for iOS devices — Chrome, Google Drive and Gmail being just a few examples — it looks like it won’t be nearly as baked-in as it was before.
Read more: Hayley Tsukayama, Washington Post
