APPLE is finally killing off a long-running app that launched way back in 2017.
The doomed app was built in-house by Apple, but its shutdown has already begun.
4
Apple’s Clips app debuted eight years ago, giving iPhone and iPad users a way to quickly edit video clips.
You could add text and filters, and attach music to your clips too.
The idea was that you could quickly pull together fun videos that you could then post to social media.
But Apple has now confirmed that the app is being shut down, and has already removed it from the App Store.
That means you’ll no longer be able to download the app as a new user.
However, you can still use the app if you already had it installed, as long as your device is running the latest iOS or iPadOS – so that’s iOS 26 or iPadOS 26 software.
Apple also noted: “This Clips app is no longer being updated.”
That means it won’t receive any new features or bug fixes, and won’t be updated to work with future iPhone software versions.
Apple is now urging users to back up their Clips videos elsewhere.
Otherwise you could lose access to them when you are no longer able to use Clips.
“Save your Clips videos to your photo library or another location,” Apple advised.
“You can save videos with any effects you might have added in Clips or save individual clips without effects.
“Then, watch your videos in other apps like Photos or make new videos with individual clips using iMovie or other third-party apps like InShot, VN Video Editor, and GoPro Quik.”
HOW TO SAVE YOUR CLIPS
If you want to save a Clips video without effects, it’s very simple.
4
Just open a project, tap a clip, swipe left on the tools, and then choose Save Clip.
This will save your clip to your photo library – and will also add it to an album called Clips.
If the Save Clip option is dimmed then you’ll be able to find the original clip in your photo library, Apple said.
If you want to save a Clips video with effects, it’s also fairly easy to do.
Open the video that you want to save, then tap on the Share button in the bottom-right of the app.
Now tap Options > Video, select other options like the Aspect Ratio, and then tap Done.
You’ll then be given options on how you’d like to save the video.
You could save it in your photos library, which makes the video available inside the Photos app.
WHAT COULD APPLE’S CLIPS DO?
Here’s how Apple described the app at launch…
“Clips lets users create multi-clip videos on iPhone or iPad without timelines, tracks or complicated editing tools,” Apple said in 2017.
“Touch and hold a single button to shoot live video and photos, or add them from the Photo Library.
“Then add artistic filters, speech bubbles, shapes or emoji. Users can also add full-screen posters with animated backgrounds and customisable text.
“Clips has dozens of music soundtracks to choose from, and they automatically adjust to match the length of a video.
“With Live Titles in Clips, users can add animated captions and titles using just their voice.
“Captions are generated automatically as a user speaks, and appear on screen perfectly synced with the user’s voice.
“Users can mix and match different styles, and tap any title to adjust text and punctuation, or even add inline emoji. Live Titles supports 36 different languages.”
Or you can save the video in iCloud Drive or on your device by tapping Save to Files.
Then you can choose a file name and location. If you want to see more locations, tap Browse in the top-left.
This will allow you to save your video clip from Clips with effects.
DEATH OF CLIPS
When the app launched, Apple hailed it as a “new app that makes it quick and fun for anyone to create expressive videos”.
4
“Clips gives iPhone and iPad users a new way to express themselves through video, and it’s incredibly easy to use,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s then-vice president of Apps Product Marketing, speaking in 2017.
“The effects, filters and amazing new Live Titles we’ve designed for Clips let anyone make great-looking, easily sharable videos with just a few taps.”
Sadly, the app has finally been closed down.
Apple hasn’t publicly revealed why the app is being shut down.
4
But usually an app closes because there aren’t enough users to justify the cost of maintaining it.
Many social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram offer their own tools for video editing.
And Apple already offers its iMovie app as a free way to edit videos.
Lots of social media creators also use free third-party alternatives like CapCut to edit videos for their pages.
