Apple has announced that the iPhone will include a built-in, Apple-designed YouTube application when it launches on June 29. The new iPhone application will wirelessly stream YouTube content over Wi-Fi or EDGE networks. In addition, the previously announced YouTube feature for Apple TV is now available as a free update using the unit’s built-in software update feature.
YouTube members will be able to log-in to their accounts from Apple TV to view and save their favorite videos. “iPhone delivers the best YouTube mobile experience by far,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Now users can enjoy YouTube wherever they are-on their iPhone, on their Mac or on a widescreen TV in their living room with Apple TV.” Since the YouTube on Apple TV feature was announced, YouTube has been encoding videos in H.264 format.
iPhone will be the first mobile device to use YouTube’s H.264-encoded videos — over 10,000 will be available on June 29. YouTube will continue adding more videos each week, until its entire catalog is avaiable in H.264, sometime this fall.
Update: Apple has added a YouTube demo to the iPhone’s “Internet in Your Pocket” QuickTour page.