Eyeing TikTok, YouTube Create is a Video Editing App for Smartphones

Sep 21, 2023

YouTube announced YouTube Create, a new app that allows users to edit videos directly from their smartphone.

The new app may help YouTube cut into TikTok’s popularity, as the ByteDance-owned app is an extremely easy-to-use platform that includes a special smartphone app designed to create content that can be edited and published entirely from a mobile device.

If YouTube wants its Shorts content to make inroads with users, it must be straightforward to create and share content for it. YouTube notes that Shorts, launched in 2020, now has over 70 billion daily views from over 2 billion monthly users.

“And now, we’re announcing new tools that make it easier than ever for anyone to express any idea and bring it to life on Shorts,” YouTube says.

“We know the production process for videos can be difficult and often prevents that first-time creator from uploading their first video. To streamline this process and allow anyone to create and share videos right to YouTube, we’re launching a new mobile app called YouTube Create,” Google explains.

The new app is in beta on Android devices in select markets, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Indonesia, India, Korea, and Singapore. YouTube Create is free of charge and built with producing Shorts in mind. However, creators can use the app to edit longer videos, too.

✨ introducing YouTube Create

a new easy-to-use editing app that helps you make high-quality vids & can publish to YouTube 🎬

now in *beta* in 8 countries on Android

we want your feedback 📣

download in Play Store: https://t.co/eV3LZP8N2b

more info: https://t.co/HnbJhl8oR7 pic.twitter.com/1tCyKAYvtu

— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) September 21, 2023

YouTube spokesperson Kimberly Taylor tells The Verge that YouTube plans to bring the YouTube Create app to iOS sometime next year.

“The app offers video editing tools including precision editing and trimming, automatic captioning, voiceover capabilities and access to a library of filters, effects, transitions and royalty-free music with beat matching technology so that creators can produce their next YouTube video without relying on complex editing software. All this, right from their mobile phones,” says YouTube.

The tech giant says that it has worked alongside prolific content creators in designing the early beta version of YouTube Create and will continue to fine-tune the app with community input as YouTube works to add new features and capabilities.

Today, YouTube also announced a new feature allowing content creators to generate AI images to use as a video backdrop.