YouTube is planning to launch a TikTok competitor called Shorts later in the year in an effort to bring user-generated content back to its platform. That’s according to a report in The Information (via The Verge).
The report says that Shorts will be a feature within the existing YouTube app and will comprise a feed of short user videos. Users will be able to take advantage of YouTube’s library of licensed music as a differentiator.
Following the slow collapse of Vine, TikTok came out of relative obscurity to become a worldwide sensation. The fact it has come out of China, where Chinese apps and brands tend to stay, is a surprise to the folks in Silicon Valley.
Although apps like Snapchat and features like Instagram Stories can be used for video, TikTok has a stranglehold on a particular humorous style of user video content that other companies want a piece of.
YouTube stepping into the breach makes sense and with its music catalogue on board it could prove a canny move. But it’ll depend how good the UI integration is, and whether people will associate YouTube with their own content creation as well as consumption.
Author: Henry Burrell, Phones Editor
Henry is Tech Advisor’s Phones Editor, ensuring he and the team covers and reviews every smartphone worth knowing about for readers and viewers all over the world. He spends a lot of time moving between different handsets and shouting at WhatsApp to support multiple devices at once.