Apple’s new Clips app makes social videos for other social networks

[kristine]

Apple wants in on social video sharing — just not with its own social network.

The company just announced a new Apple-made app called Clips, which borrows features from Snapchat, Instagram, Vine, Prisma, iMovie, and Qwiki (remember that one?), and puts them all into a video-making mobile app that’s completely separate from Apple’s core camera app on iPhone and iPad.

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It’s been long overdue, and also, long-in-the-works: it was first reported last summer that this kind of app was being developed, with Apple looking for ways to up the value of its existing iPhone hardware while simultaneously developing technology that could be enhanced by new cameras or sensors down the line. It’s still not a social network all by itself, but the Clips app shows that Apple is eager to remain a part of the conversation — and people’s workflows — around social sharing apps.

The Clips app has a simple photo- and video-capture interface, but has a surprising number of features, some that feel borrowed and others that are new and Apple-y. The main page of the app has a capture screen (square, like Instagram), with Photo, Video, and Library options below it. At the top, there are four options for styling or customizing the video: Live Titles, Filters, Overlays, and Posters. And at the very bottom of the screen there’s a timeline, because while you can technically shoot single photos or videos with Clips, Apple has designed it in a way that encourages stringing together a sequence of clips.