Apple's Clips app is a fun tool, but not quite a CapCut replacement
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While TikTok's future remains unclear, Meta has rushed to release an alternative to CapCut, while Apple continues to do nothing to promote Clips eight years after its debut.
There's a lot of debate about whether TikTok will be banned or not, but competitors are taking note. Meta, Adobe, and even Apple have the opportunity to take advantage of the void left by TikTok, CapCut, and other ByteDance-owned apps if a ban is implemented.
According to a Reels post from Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri, a new video editing app called Edits will be released sometime in February. This is similar to how Meta pre-announced Threads as an alternative to the dying Twitter platform.
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The announcement couldn’t have come at a worse time. TikTok’s ban lasted less than 24 hours before assurances from the new administration allowed TikTok to reopen without fear of fines for breaking the law — likely.
CapCut is a popular editing tool for TikTok users, and its potential ban has given companies like Meta some incentive to rush the app’s release. The new Edits app will apparently have some sort of social aspect, where it will provide users with a stream of popular filters and sounds to incorporate into their videos.
The Edits app announcement was likely designed to take advantage of TikTok’s ban and encourage people to immediately migrate to Instagram Reels. Videos posted from Edits to Reels will receive the performance metrics provided in the app.
Apple and Google had not restored TikTok to their app stores as of this publication Sunday evening, but users in the United States have access to the service again. Edits will be coming whether the ban remains or not, but Meta was clearly expecting a void to be filled, not a deeply entrenched, popular competitor.
Apple's Missed Opportunity
Apple has been operating on the fringes of social media for years without fully diving into it. The company is still clearly smarting from the failure of Ping.
Despite this, many of the apps and features on the iPhone walk the line between entertainment tool and social platform. One such tool was Clips, which arrived in 2017 without much fanfare and has since been forgotten.
Meta and ByteDance have a reason to push their respective video editing apps — brand synergy. More users means more data, more content, and more ad revenue. Apple, however, doesn’t have the same motivation.
Apple has never gone full-on social media, but it’s come close with apps like iMessage
While Apple would likely like users to flock to Clips, that would mean entering a race to please a wave of millions of customers on an app and interface that was never really more than a proof of concept. It would be a money pit with very little reward, since Apple doesn’t have a social platform to attract users to or a way to monetize the app.
Clips is a toy app of sorts that lets users create videos using Memoji and filters that take depth and space into account. It’s very minimalist and lacks many of the useful tools users would expect from a CapCut alternative.
There’s also a lot of potential for trouble in trying to compete with Meta and ByteDance. Any US entity that gets 50% ownership of TikTok would be a direct competitor to Meta and anyone else trying to enter the market.
Apple would be foolish to enter a politically charged battle where the Chinese government, Donald Trump, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon Musk are all backing the opposition. It would undermine Apple CEO Tim Cook's attempt to keep the company out of the political spotlight with his $1 million personal donation, and undercut Zuckerberg's apparent efforts to pledge allegiance.
There are too many unknowns to predict whether Meta's move will bear fruit. For now, though, Apple appears to have made the right decision or not by leaving Clips alone.
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