As Apple gears up to release iOS 6 and in so doing, cut further ties with Google, the search giant is keeping its foot in the door with the release of a new YouTube app for the iPhone and iPod, and soon for the iPad too.
The app was announced on the YouTube blog and will bring a number of features that have not yet been seen in the pre-installed YouTube client for iOS. By creating a standalone app, Google is now free from Apple's restrictions.
For example, users will now be able to view official music videos, which previously could not be played due to a lack of agreement between Apple and Google about how ads could be shown to users.
Other features include a new YouTube Channel guide and new search and discovery tools. Users can also flip through related videos, comments and more info, while watching a video.
Head of YouTube mobile, Andrey Doronichev, says they are currently working on an app optimised for the iPad and will release it in the coming months. Doronichev adds that there are one billion mobile views a day on YouTube.
The announcement of the lapsing of the licence agreement followed closely on Apple saying it would drop Google Maps in favour of its own in-house solution. This fuelled speculation that Apple was seeking to make iOS free of any Google apps out of the box.
While the pre-installed YouTube iOS app has been very popular (the third most popular iPhone app, according to Nielsen), it had not had any significant updates in years.
A standalone YouTube app now provides Google the opportunity to better monetise the platform with the inclusion of ads. The update cycle is also expected to be significantly improved since Google will now have full control over it (the previous app was actually built by Apple using YouTube standards).
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