iOS 6 beta 4 removes YouTube, adds Bluetooth Sharing
A couple of noteworthy changes have been made to iOS 6 as of the fourth beta update. Perhaps most notably, Apple has removed YouTube from the list of built-in apps. YouTube was a last-minute pre-launch addition to the iPhone in 2007, and has remained a built-in app across all iOS devices since. Apple has recently moved to distance its mobile platform from Google in iOS 6, however, replacing the latter’s Maps service with an in-house solution. The YouTube app had not been updated in some time; Apple may simply be leaving its development up to Google, which will presumably be able to release a new YouTube app as a free download from the App Store.
In addition, a new “Bluetooth Sharing” menu has appeared inside the Settings app. Found under the Privacy heading, it lists apps that have requested the ability to share data via Bluetooth. While its exact purpose is currently unknown, it is possible that this menu could tie-in to the Bluetooth 4 linking feature revealed by iLounge in a report last week.
Update: Apple has released a statement regarding the removal of the YouTube app. “Our license to include the YouTube app in iOS has ended, customers can use YouTube in the Safari browser and Google is working on a new YouTube app to be on the App Store.”
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This sounds so cool - I’d love to be able to send a text or phone call from my iPad if my iPhone is in another room or charging or docked.
The YouTube app becoming separate is logical as Apple doesn’t have to remain responsible for it and Google can do a great new twist on it, presumably with more freedom - iOS didn’t have an app store at version 1 so it wouldn’t have been practical for Google to release their own version separate from the OS.
Posted by Alan on August 7, 2012 at 6:07 PM (CDT)