YouTube App Removed From iOS 6 Beta4

thank god by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-06 08:28 · Score: 2, Insightful

I can now delete an app I never used.

Re:thank god by mwfischer · 2012-08-06 08:31 · Score: 5, Funny

What about the other 51 apps you probably have on your phone that you used once? /also guilty
Re:thank god by Ossifer · 2012-08-06 11:44 · Score: 3, Informative

The difference is that you can delete most of those. Also, when you upgrade to iOS 6, you won't have to delete the youtube app--it'll just be gone.
Most people I know have a folder of undesired, undeletable Applue-supplied apps...
Re:thank god by sg_oneill · 2012-08-06 14:40 · Score: 2

Finally more memory for the Stockmarket ticker app!

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Re:thank god by Ossifer · 2012-08-06 14:42 · Score: 4, Funny

How could Android phones possibly have any bloatware? I mean haven't Google, the phone manufacturers, and your carrier teamed up to give you FULL CONTROL of what's running your phone?

Downward Spiral by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-06 08:29 · Score: 3, Insightful

First no Google Maps, now this. iOS is really heading south.

Re:Downward Spiral by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-06 08:32 · Score: 5, Funny

But I live in Antarctica you insensitive clod!.
Re:Downward Spiral by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-06 08:33 · Score: 2, Funny

Yes. Please hold me tenderly. Let the bristles on your neck touch my face softly.
Re:Downward Spiral by Richard_at_work · 2012-08-06 08:48 · Score: 4, Insightful

Yup, because no one could possibly produce anything better...
YouTube never made sense as a built in app - it also breaks your flow of usage if you want to view multiple videos on one page, as each takes you out of the fecking browser and into another app. Keep it all in the browser and allow it to full screen the video when requested - you know, like PornHub does!
And relying on a third service for what is rapidly becoming a central reason to have a multipurpose phone (mapping and turn by turn navigation) when the relationship between you and that third party was never going to fly, especially when that same third party is fostering a competitor to your platform - goodbye Google Maps, hello something better.
Re:Downward Spiral by Cinder6 · 2012-08-06 08:57 · Score: 5, Insightful

YouTube made lots of sense when the iPhone first came out. Back then, youtube.com didn't work properly in Safari--the app was necessary to even watch YouTube videos. Since then, support was added and the .app never received much in the way of updates. This move is actually a good thing. Just go to youtube.com/mobile and tap "add it to the homescreen".

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Re:Downward Spiral by cpu6502 · 2012-08-06 08:57 · Score: 3, Interesting

>>>relying on a third service for what is rapidly becoming a central reason to have a multipurpose phone (mapping and turn by turn navigation) when the relationship between you and that third party was never going to fly, especially when that same third party is fostering a competitor to your platform - goodbye Google Maps, hello something better.
>>>
How disappointing you don't see a problem with this. It would be equivalent to Comcast/NBC ejecting all the ABC and FOX-owned channels from our television screens. Goodbye FOX News... goodbye FX... goodbye ABC Family... goodbye Disney... goodbye Nickelodeon... goodbye A&E... goodbye Showtime... et cetera. (Don't worry: They'll soon be replaced with NBC-owned channels which are "better".)

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Re:Downward Spiral by AmiMoJo · 2012-08-06 09:20 · Score: 4, Interesting

The Android app has quite a few extra features compared to the mobile site. The UI is more responsive since there is no need to fetch HTML/Javascript of course, and you get all the usual system integration goodies like the sharing menu. On-screen controls and the menu button work better while watching videos too.
If the iPhone version sucked, well, that isn't a reason to celebrate it going away. That is a reason to complain that it sucked compared to other versions.

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Re:Downward Spiral by Richard_at_work · 2012-08-06 09:22 · Score: 2

Your comparison makes sense only when ABC and Fox also run a competing network to Comcasts/NBCs. Until then, it's to the same situation as I describe.
Google is giving a lot of functionality to Android for free with regard to Google Maps - Apple has to license that functionality at a cost (there was a big thing made of the fact that turn by turn direction apps were against the terms of the license they held). So what should they do, pay the increased license cost and continue to be held hostage, or free themselves from the shackles of a competing organisation?
It's one thing when the people you do business with are just your suppliers, it's a whole different ball game when they are also your largest competitor and they also hold all the balls.
So what's disappointing in that? Nothing as far as I can see.
Re:Downward Spiral by oakgrove · 2012-08-06 09:45 · Score: 2

Yeah, because this:
http://imgur.com/a/vK6tr
Looks and functions so much worse than Google Maps. Oh wait, it's better.
Yeah, but Google has already previewed their much improved Maps for iOS 6 so that's the one the Apple app will be competing with. I don't know how far Google is willing to go to put a great Maps experience on a competitor's platform but if they are committed, just like with the Google Now vs. Siri thing, Google can almost certainly make a better Maps app than Apple since they have the experience and the data that Apple can't match. Personally I use Android and iOS devices and I love it when apps are decoupled from the underlying platform. Maps, Youtube, etc. should be a separate download so they can be updated without having to wait for a whole new version of the OS to come out. Most of the original Google Apps for Android including, incidentally Youtube and Maps in addition to GMail, Chrome Browser and probably some others I'm forgetting are now a download from Google Play and are updateable that way. Yes, your phone will still come with that stuff but the apps aren't in lockstep anymore. This is a good thing and should be celebrated for what it is.

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Re:Downward Spiral by cpu6502 · 2012-08-06 10:02 · Score: 2

>>>Your comparison makes sense only when ABC and Fox also run a competing network to Comcasts/NBCs
Uh. What? They do run competing networks/channels to NBC-Comcast. Just as google runs competing OS to Apple's OS. That's why I made the comparison in my original post.

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Glad to be an Android user.... by MickyTheIdiot · 2012-08-06 08:31 · Score: 2, Insightful

I'm glad to be an Android user. I'll stick with that.

Re:Glad to be an Android user.... by the_B0fh · 2012-08-06 08:34 · Score: 3, Informative

What has that got to do with anything? You *DO* realize that youtube is available via the Safari browser too, right? And that you can put a shortcut to it in your screen? And the mobile version can pull down better resolution stuff..?
A lot of people prefer to use the mobile version of youtube rather than the app. With the app, you can't even copy a damned url link.
Re:Glad to be an Android user.... by MickyTheIdiot · 2012-08-06 08:36 · Score: 2, Insightful

*I* am also able to decide that I want a YouTube app and I don't have to let Apple make that decision for me.
Re:Glad to be an Android user.... by Kenja · 2012-08-06 08:43 · Score: 4, Insightful

So you choosing to download an app is "apple making a decision for you", unlike the app being included no mater what you choose?

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Re:Glad to be an Android user.... by shutdown+-p+now · 2012-08-06 08:46 · Score: 5, Insightful

In this case, the change is actually for the better as far as you are concerned, then - where previously YouTube was a stock iOS app, and, as such, unremovable, Now it's going to be just another app published by Google via App Store, so you can decide whether to install it or not.
Re:Glad to be an Android user.... by shutdown+-p+now · 2012-08-06 08:52 · Score: 4, Informative

Why wouldn't Apple approve it? Especially when they already gave the line of "Google is working on their own app" as an excuse.
Re:Glad to be an Android user.... by Desler · 2012-08-06 08:54 · Score: 5, Insightful

Then just download the new app when it hits the store and shut the fuck up. This is a change only in that the Youtube app is no longer unremovable from the system which was a stupid idea.

Make a Link on the Desktop by R3d+M3rcury · 2012-08-06 08:36 · Score: 2

Personally, I hate the iOS App for YouTube. I have a link on my desktop which I use instead. Works great.

Re:Make a Link on the Desktop by jo_ham · 2012-08-06 10:39 · Score: 2

He does have a point - the built in app is really outdated. The web version provided by Google via Safari is much better. I'm not sure who still uses the built in one any more - now that it's gone that's an extra icon that I previously had to stash in a junk folder that's no longer an issue since as a stock app you couldn't remove it. This is a good move.

Good by MrDoh! · 2012-08-06 08:37 · Score: 5, Insightful

These devices should come with the basic app market/store and as little else as possible. When signing up, offer the basics, browser/email, and a list of suggested good to haves, but the lighter these things are on base install, the better. Ok, might be a pain for some people getting a device that's 'empty' and needs 5 mins of installing before it's considered useful, but sure would make upgrades easier later with having no apps baked in.

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Re:Good by oakgrove · 2012-08-06 08:49 · Score: 2

These devices should come with the basic app market/store and as little else as possible.
Yep, it's a joy installing something like Cyanogenmod or similar on an Android handset and getting nothing but the most barebones pack-ins even when installing the gapps. You get just what you need as far as extras. The browser, the market, a terminal, and a few extras like calculator. No streaming apps, no gmail, youtube, nothing. Not even Maps is included. If you want it, play.google.com has it. I wouldn't have it any other way.

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The soylentnews experiment has been a dismal failure.

Does there need to be an app for everything? by Compaqt · 2012-08-06 08:39 · Score: 4, Interesting

I'm amazed at the indolent culture spawned by the iPhone: Nowadays, you can't just go to a website. You have to have a special executable for every single different website you visit!

It seems like there are people who don't go to certain websites, until they announce "Announcing the blah.com iPhone App!"

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Re:Does there need to be an app for everything? by magamiako1 · 2012-08-06 08:51 · Score: 5, Insightful

Part of the reason for 'having an app' is for native performance on the hardware itself. Even Facebook is making a native app on iOS.

Source: http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/27/3120964/facebook-objective-c-app
Re:Does there need to be an app for everything? by oakgrove · 2012-08-06 09:02 · Score: 3, Interesting

As a part time mobile developer, I can kind of understand why. For any truly interactive site running a lot of javascript and doing anything ajaxy, the performance on a mobile device more is nothing short of ass-tastic. You go to a lot of sites and get greeted with some weird javascript popup that's almost impossible to click close on as the button just doesn't respond well. And a lot of sites take a long time to load especially blogs like theverge.com. A mobile app for those sites almost always loads the content quicker, has native controls for scrolling etc. so you don't have to rely on the craptacular javascript emulated UIs, and just does a better job of formatting the content to the screen. Of course all that could just be the fault of the website in question but I just don't see (for example) how engadget.com could ever be as good on the iPad as the engadget app. They both show the same content but the app is so much faster and has additional features that would be very difficult to do on the actual site with web dev tools. The only real issue is that if you had an app for every single site that needed one you'd have one cluttered phone. Maybe they could just disappear and automatically pop up if you put the url in the browser or clicked a bookmark. This could be done right now at least on Android since you can trigger apps to respond to custom uri's. Like slashdot://slashdot.com when clicked as an embedded link or in a bookmark could automatically open a "Slashdot" app.
Of course with suitably fast mobile devices, the speed advantage of the apps starts to get smaller and smaller. On my Xoom with Jellybean I don't bother to use any mobile site apps as the sites work perfectly well in the browser and all controls work well. My first gen iPad not so much.

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Re:Does there need to be an app for everything? by PeanutButterBreath · 2012-08-06 09:15 · Score: 2

WTF does "performance" have to do with Facebook??!!
Facebook's a freaking website.
But it is a shitty website that is trying to do a ton of things behind the scenes (even if they aren't things that the user wants or sees). A dedicated app could (conceivably) handle that more elegantly.
Re:Does there need to be an app for everything? by Entropius · 2012-08-06 10:55 · Score: 2

On my phone (Android), though, the performance of the Facebook app is worse than loading their mobile page in Opera. The app looks better, but it performs substantially worse.

Not like we used it anyway by Supp0rtLinux · 2012-08-06 08:43 · Score: 2

The app has always been somewhat restricted. It was good back in 2007. Since 2010 the web app has been better. Considering its impossible to delete stock apps unless you JB, I'm glad to see this one go. It won't be missed and free's up space.

Re:Not like we used it anyway by Supp0rtLinux · 2012-08-06 08:46 · Score: 3, Insightful

Ironically, since the Safari web app came out, people have been asking for this especially since many of the videos won't play in the native app anyway you need the web app or Vevo, etc. Yet as soon as they pull it, people start making a big deal out of it. Sure Apple is distancing themselves from Google a bit, but its not like this broke something. It would be different if Google Voice was built into IOS like it is on Android and then Apple removed it. That would have some impact. But simply removing the YouTube app? Not so much.
Re:Not like we used it anyway by Anonymous Coward · 2012-08-06 08:52 · Score: 2, Funny

free's
Holy shit, here comes an s!

Re:Mars expedition is staged by jellomizer · 2012-08-06 08:45 · Score: 3, Funny

XKCD

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If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.

Re:Slow news day by CanHasDIY · 2012-08-06 08:45 · Score: 2

I'm not usually the guy to post the "bitch about Slashdot" troll post, but seriously guys: It's not necessary to post something everytime someone from APPL, MSFT, or GOOG wipes their ass.

Whereas the story I posted the other day about how Valve is updating their user agreement to ban class-action lawsuits, ala Sony/EA, magically disappears from the firehose about 20 minutes after submission.

Either malice or stupidity, either way not a complement...

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I don't see a problem here. by westlake · 2012-08-06 08:50 · Score: 5, Insightful

The proper place for Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, and all the rest would seem to be as optional downloads from the iOS App Store.

The only fair alternatives are to pre-load all competing media players and give them the same prominence as iTunes or introduce a purely bureaucratic solution like the European "browser ballot" for media play.

Re:Mars expedition is staged by EdIII · 2012-08-06 08:54 · Score: 4, Funny

From what I've read, the new Total Recall movie doesn't even happen on Mars.

WTF!?

Then it ain't Total Recall. If I can't see a mutant 3-titted Martian hooker in cheap biodome light, then I just don't see the point in watching that movie...

Re:Coming soon, "Apple iTube" by MrEricSir · 2012-08-06 08:55 · Score: 4, Insightful

Wait, what? They're removing a watered-down YouTube app made by Apple, and now you'll have the option to install an official one instead (or just use the website.)

So no, it's the exact opposite of what you said.

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There's no -1 for "I don't get it."

Re:customers can use YouTube in the Safari browser by garcia · 2012-08-06 09:24 · Score: 2

The only YouTube content I haven't been able to view on my iPhone is specifically disabled for mobile (some media company, which I now cannot recall, that mainly does music videos).

YMMV.

Re:customers can use YouTube in the Safari browser by larry+bagina · 2012-08-06 09:27 · Score: 3, Informative

I don't have flash on my computer. In my experience, 100% of youtube videos are html5 compliant on Safari/h.264. With Firefox/ogg/webm, a large number don't work.

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Re:Mars expedition is staged by fiannaFailMan · 2012-08-06 09:28 · Score: 2

From what I've read, the new Total Recall movie doesn't even happen on Mars.

WTF!?

Then it ain't Total Recall. If I can't see a mutant 3-titted Martian hooker in cheap biodome light, then I just don't see the point in watching that movie...

The original story (written in a book) was not set on Mars. Therefore Arnie's Total Recall was not Total Recall.

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Drill baby drill - on Mars

Re:Life is hotter in the south by oakgrove · 2012-08-06 09:29 · Score: 4, Insightful

Instead of iOS developers being limited in what they can do with a map (like no turn by turn directions) by arbitrary Google limitations, iOS map based apps can now do anything they like atop a map.

How about iOS developers that need high perfomance javascript in their webviews? Or users that would like to use Opera as their default to open links? On Android not only can I make any browser (or none of them) the default but I can fine tune it down to the point that links from different sites seamlessly open in my browser of choice, e.g., some sites just look better in Opera like Slashdot, some better in Chrome like CNet. And because a developer restricts API access or doesn't offer a particular API at all doesn't mean it's some "arbitrary decision". There are many things that go into those types of decisions and just because Apple brass is accusing Google of essentially "being mean" and you parroting the party line doesn't make it so. Think carefully lest you be hypocritical.

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Re:Mars expedition is staged by kallisti · 2012-08-06 09:42 · Score: 4, Insightful

Therefore Arnie's Total Recall was not Total Recall.

Yes it was, it's just not "We Can Remember It For You, Wholesale". Which neither movie really resembles in the slightest.

Re:Mars expedition is staged by Pathwalker · 2012-08-06 09:55 · Score: 3, Funny

The grounding is a trick; it just ties you into the Earth's energy fields, and makes the mind control easier.

Just remember:
* Shiny side out blocks mind control.
* Shiny side in blocks reading your thoughts.

You have to pick one!

Re:Life is hotter in the south by SuperKendall · 2012-08-06 10:31 · Score: 2, Informative

How about iOS developers that need high perfomance javascript in their webviews?

That's unrelated to the issue at hand.

If you need performance in an app, don't use a WebView. You are in an app after all... you have the ability use any native code you like.

Meanwhile enjoy your improperly sandboxed OS of choice that does accelerate WebView equivalents in an app...

Or users that would like to use Opera as their default to open links?

Yes, that limitation should be removed - it would be great to be able to configure alternate web browsers.

Too bad Google doesn't let you chose other providers for alternate transit routing like Apple does in iOS6 though. What Google gives with the one hand, they tale away with the other.

And because a developer restricts API access or doesn't offer a particular API at all doesn't mean it's some "arbitrary decision".

Pardon me, instead of Arbitrary I should have said "because of a choice that Google made in order to try and hurt the iOS platform".

The FACT is that as a developer of applications that use maps I have far more flexibility now in what I can do than I did when Google supplied the map data. The FACT is that as a developer of map based applications I can be integrated alongside the native maps app and called out for when the user is in a specific region.

All of these things are possible because Google is no longer making arbi.... strategic choices about what iOS developers can do relative to Android developers.

Think carefully lest you be hypocritical.

How is it hypocritical to point out that were Google is removed as a controlling entity I have more options as a developer?

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Re:Mars expedition is staged by Ossifer · 2012-08-06 11:41 · Score: 4, Funny

Yet again something easily filmed in Arizona....

Re:Life is hotter in the south by jbolden · 2012-08-06 11:54 · Score: 2

I doubt the number one developer complaint about symbian would be anything having to do with performance, so many other things to take the #1 slot :) Anyway I don't know.

But when an arbitrary decision like "no Nitro for YOU" gets in the way of me fully enjoying my webview wrapper of choice on a device I paid money for, I, as a consumer have a right to say something about it.

What makes you think that's arbitrary? Apple has been very clear on the why and it sure doesn't sound arbitrary. Any browser hitting secure javascript would need to have a security layer like Safari's. If you don't know how how to hack your webkit to point to the high speed engine then you don't know enough about webkit security to judge. You may disagree with Apple on that theory but it is not arbitrary at all. Apple has never been a "you can have it your way" for customers that don't have developer access. They have never offered that kind of flexibility.

Ultimately you have it Steve's way (or Tim's way) with the choices they offer you. I disagreed with the move to Intel processors, still do and they still don't care.

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YouTube App Removed From iOS 6 Beta4

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