Apple’s “Clips” – A Revolution in Snapchat and Instagram’s “Stories” Concept

The established giants of social media, Instagram and Snapchat, have skillfully utilized Apple’s camera app to great success over time. Instagram now boasts a userbase of approximately 500 million while Snapchat flaunts over 150 million. Moreover, with Facebook’s Messenger App’s new layout significantly relying on the iPhone camera app, the influence and reach of the app continue to grow. It appears that these striking numbers have led Apple to claim a part of the pie.

Apple recently announced the launch of Clips, signifying a shift in the company’s direction. Unlike its previous attempts, which include the iMovie used for video editing on iPhone and Mac, Clips offers a fresher and more engaging user experience. Users have the freedom to record a video and subsequently edit it from the Clips palate. What sets this innovation apart is the unique capability to dictate captions that will be displayed in the final clip, thus adding a layer of interactivity and customization.

Clips, currently in its pre-launch stage, promises to be a formidable contender against Snapchat and Instagram’s popular “Stories” feature. The essential differentiation lies in the permanence of Clips: instead of the content disappearing after 24 hours as is the case with Stories, Clips are saved directly onto your device. Additionally, the duration flexibility of Clips stands out, enabling you to create videos potentially extending into an hour-long masterpiece. This is not just a run-of-the-mill social media feature; the potential applications are vast, such as conducting online tutorials.

Starting with iOS 9, Apple executed modifications to simplify content sharing on websites synced with your iPhone. By implication, sharing your newly created Clips will be straightforward and seamless.

While it remains uncertain whether Apple plans to expand this application across different operating systems to establish a foothold in the crowded social media market, attracting a significant portion of entrenched Instagram and Snapchat users will be a tall task.

While Facebook has often faced criticism for supposedly cloning Snapchat features, Apple’s Clips takes the concept further by integrating voice dictation and offering a more robust editing suite. This may have Snapchat users wondering whether the grass is greener on the other side.