Apple Removes YouTube App from iOS 6

In a move which will be seen as a further escalation of its war of words with Google, Apple has taken the decision not to renew its licence for the YouTube app in iOS 6, though Google is said to be working on a new app for the platform.

The news of the removal of the YouTube app came Apple released iOS 6 Beta 4 to developers and it was revealed that the YouTube app, which has been present on all versions of iOs until now, will no longer come as a default.

YouTube will be removed from iPhones and iPad updated to iOS 6 but appears to remain in Apple TV, according to 9to5Mac.

Following the revelation that Apple had taken the decision to remove Google Maps as the default mapping solution for iOS, this will be seen as a further move by the technology giant to distance itself from Google.

An official statement from Apple said: "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."

In response, YouTube issued a statment to AllThingsD saying: "We are working with Apple to make sure we have the best possible YouTube experience for iOS users."

The reason for this decision isn't entirely clear at the moment. Apple's homegrown version of the YouTube app has always been present on the iPhone, and pretty much anyone can build a verison of a YouTube app using its freely available API.

However Apple's version of the YouTube app doesn't display ads and certain content, such as music videos, is not available. Therefore the decision may not in fact be Apple's but Google's. The search giant may be looking to take more contorl of its YouTube apps, to give users a consistent experience, and cash-in on as much advertising as possible.

iOS 6 Beta 4 is available for the developers via Over-The-Air (OTA) update. The latest version comes with a build number 10A5376e. The update arrives just after three weeks the Beta 3 with the build number 10A5355d was released for the developers.

As well as the removal of the YouTube app, MacRumors notes some additional changes made in the fourth Beta of iOS 6. The new Wi-Fi Plus Cellular toggle in Settings will let apps automatically fall back to a 3G connection if the Wi-Fi network does not operate well.

The Passbook app now includes a new App Store button on the welcome screen. The button will allow users to get into a dedicated section in the App Store. The dedicated Privacy section in Settings includes "Bluetooth Sharing" that will help in monitoring and controlling which devices will be able to share the data through Bluetooth.

The Beta 3 version of iOS 6 had a bug in relation to Passbook brightness, which is now fixed. With the installation of Beta 4, the Passbook app will automatically force the device to full brightness.