SAN FRANCISCO: YouTube is being reprogrammed for the iPhone and iPad amid the latest fallout from the growing hostility between Apple and the video service’s owner, Google.
The new format debuted Tuesday with the release of a new YouTube application that will introduce more advertising and more videos on Apple’s trend-setting devices.
The changes are being made because Google Inc. and Apple Inc. didn’t renew a five-year licensing agreement that established YouTube as one of the built-in applications in the operating system that runs the iPhone and iPad.
YouTube is being bumped from the menu of pre-installed apps on the next version of Apple’s mobile operating system, or iOS, which could be released as early as today, when the latest iPhone is expected to be unveiled.
The updated iOS also is dumping Google’s digital maps as its go-to source for directions.
The two rivals couldn’t agree on the best way to watch YouTube on the iPhone and iPad, leading to the termination of the licensing agreement and leading to Google’s development of a stand-alone YouTube app that can be downloaded for free in Apple’s iTunes store.
The new YouTube app is tailored for the iPhone, although it will work on the iPad, too. A retooled app specifically tailored for the iPad is supposed to be released in the next few months.
