Apple has begun discontinuing its video-editing application, Clips, by removing it from the App Store for new users and ceasing future updates. The change, officially implemented on October 10, marks the winding down of support for the software.
According to a support page on Apple’s website, individuals who already have Clips installed can continue to use the application on their current or earlier versions of iOS and iPadOS. These existing users also retain the ability to re-download the app from their purchase history within their Apple account if it is deleted. However, Apple advises that without ongoing updates, the app will likely become more difficult to use over time. The company encourages users to export their created Clips videos, either with or without applied effects, to their device’s photo library. This allows the content to be preserved, viewed, and edited using other applications.
Launched in 2017, Clips was positioned as an Apple-centric alternative to the story-creation features popular on platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. While not a social network itself, the app provided tools for users to combine photos and videos into a single creation, which could be augmented with a variety of filters, emojis, and musical overlays. It was designed as a lightweight tool for producing short-form video content directly on a user’s device.
Following its initial release, Apple did introduce new features to the app. A report from MacRumors indicates that in more recent years, however, software updates were limited almost exclusively to bug fixes rather than functional enhancements.
