Do You Ever Use The YouTube App On Your iPhone? [Let's Talk]

Buster

When the iPhone first came out I remember using the YouTube app almost everyday for the first couple of months. It was amazing to be able to stream videos anywhere I had service, even if it took forever for them to buffer. It was magic. I couldn't get enough. And then I stopped using it.

Now the YouTube app feels like a clunky old dinasaur. I get annoyed when a link opens a YouTube video up in the app rather than the web browser, and I hide the app in my "Apps I Wish I Could Just Delete" folder, along with Stocks, NewStand, and a few others.

Do you ever use the YouTube app? Why or why not?

Brian Gregory May

I disabled the YouTube app via the Restrictions settings on both my iPhone and my iPad. I preferred the interface and additional information that is available on YouTube via Safari.

matrix3D

Yes, constantly. I'm going to be somewhat upset if Apple completely yanks the YouTube app. Sure, it was crappy and needed a design overhaul and a couple more useful features (like a plain old "Copy link to video" option -- opening an email, copying, deleting draft gets old) but at least you could upload directly from the app. You won't be able to do that from the web app. If Apple pulls it, our only hope is that Google will re-release it as a third party app.

Ivan White

I use it all the time. Don't like the whole web app thing with Safari. The native app was badly in need of an update though. Hopefully Google will (very soon) release their own native iOS YouTube app, and not forget to update it every now and then!

hblogg

Did the same myself Brian. Didn't need it, it was slow, and hated the way I was in safari and then was thrown to an app I didn't like to watch the vid and then have to switch back to safari after the video. A good move Apple!!

Marco Antonio van Gink

well.. ios beta 4 doesn't have a youtube app anymore :P

lowtolerance

Funny this conversation should come up now, as the YouTube app seems to have been removed from the iOS 6 beta 4 that was just released. Could it be that it's finally getting a much needed update, possibly decoupled from OS updates and released in the App Store(as it should be)?

joewaylo

30% of the time in searches for videos to share to other users on chat rooms. Some applications actually have a command to automatically load a random searched video and it loads via QuickTime instead of YouTube.

YouTube is more useful though however than using Google to search for keywords like "Flipping off the police" in most cases. But I can live without YouTube application.
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I honestly think Apple should have just paid for the billion dollar license.

mr_bee

I don't use the YouTube app unless I'm very, very bored. It's mostly trash and impossible to navigate. Vimeo is a much better version of the same sort of thing.

Sean Carney

I would if they redesigned it. I'm tired of it looking exactly like it did since the first iPhone. It needs a overhaul and make it easier to use AND have way more features like the actual website.

Alex Bartiş

the official statement

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.

pkktech

I use it all the time along with my Apple TV with airplay. Helps me enjoy my favorites as well as search and enjoy new videos on my TV.

NapMan

Sometimes I use it because I like that when I tap on a video it automatically plays full screen. In the web app it starts smaller and I have to expand it to full screen. Just an extra step.

dinolyndon

I don't use YouTube on my iPhone at all. Why? Because 80% of the time I can't find what I'm looking for, instead I'm presented with crappy covers or cat videos. Essentially, it's not a Youtube app, it's an app for playing the crappy assortment of videos that have been converted to html5.

steveb0513

Never; would rather open in Safari.

matrix3D

I was just going to say that it appears that Google is working on a replacement app for it that will be available in the App Store, according to TechCrunch:

http://techcrunch.com/2012/08/06/youtube-app-removed-from-ios-6-because-apples-licensing-agreement-is-over/

TheMacGuy

Unless Google is going to be re-releasing the app in the App Store, Apple renews their contract or Google makes the YouTube site COMPLETELY HTML5, I'm not upgrading to iOS 6. I NEED my YouTube app. I think the YouTube app is the best App for viewing my YouTube subscriptions, besides the full fledged YouTube website, not that shitty YouTube mobile. Also, can anyone tell me if Apple has completely removed YouTube integration?

Gregory Wright

No, screen to small.

Thunder Dan

I haven't tried to use YouTube via Safari, BUT whenever you play a video embedded in a web page on Safari in restarts often when changing from Landscape to Portrait and vice versa, so I am hoping if this holds that Apple fixes that B.S.

beachcoaster

Youtube on the iPhone is a mess. Safari doesn't know whether to use the native app or play the video in safari itself.
Plus I truly believe Google slows down download speed on iphone on purpose because my work phone(a droid) loads the same exact video way way faster.

Keith Napier

I always hid it away in a folder and used ProTube from Cydia. It gives the same HD viewing experience as the web app but added much needed features like sharing with messages.