Apple appears to be phasing out support for the Clips app - the company has removed Clips from the App Store and said it will no longer roll out any updates for it. In a support page on Apple's official website, the company pointed out that as of October 10, new users have been unable to download Clips; however, existing users can continue to use the app on current and earlier versions of iOS and iPadOS. If necessary, existing users can re-download the app from their Apple account.
Because it is no longer updated, Clips may become increasingly difficult to use over time. Therefore, Apple recommends that users download the videos in Clips (with or without special effects added) to their personal photo library so that they can be viewed and edited through other apps.
The Clips app was launched in 2017 and was seen as Apple's answer to Snapchat and Instagram Stories - it wasn't a social network, but it allowed users to splice photos and videos together and add filters, emojis and music.
In the early days of its launch, TechCrunch's Brian Hitt commented that Clips' video editing function was "simple to the point of being flawed," but he also pointed out that the app could help Apple showcase its software and hardware capabilities while providing users with a way out of the then-rapidly emerging social ecosystem.
According to technology information website MacRumors, although Apple has added new features to Clips since its launch, updates in recent years have been limited to fixing bugs.
Apple fans on Reddit didn't seem surprised by the news of Clips being discontinued, with many saying they had "tried it once a few years ago" or had "never heard of this app at all." In addition, compared with OpenAI’s (Open Artificial Intelligence Company) generative AI video application Sora, which recently exceeded 1 million downloads, applications like Clips that are “built around users’ real-life footage” may seem a bit outdated.