Mark Gurman reporting for Bloomberg:

Now Apple is starting to develop a video sharing app that allows users to record video, apply filters and drawings to the media — much like Snapchat does — and send it to contacts or via existing social networks such as Twitter Inc., according to the people familiar with its development. The software is currently being designed to be used mostly with one hand and with the intention that video could be shot, edited, and uploaded in less than 1 minute, the people said. At least one of the prototype designs for the app would shoot video in an Instagram-like square shape, one of the people said.

The goal behind the project’s development is to offer simple video editing with tools that appeal to the generation of users growing up with Snapchat and Instagram, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. Snapchat told investors in April that more than one-third of its daily users create their own photo-and-video “Stories” of their daily lives. Apple’s current plan calls for its project to become a stand-alone app, presumably as a download via the App Store, but the company may decide to package the functionality into the iPhone’s existing camera application, the people said.

First of all, many people have reported that Apple is working on their own version of Snapchat or Instagram Stories and this does not seem to be the case from what I read of Mark’s report.

I imagine that this is an offline tool for creating content which can then be posted to existing social networks, because if you need an app to view the content, I don’t think people will switch — they already have Snapchat, IG, Facebook, and Twitter. The mentioned apps are also available on Android. Should Apple go down the path of making their app required to view content and not offering an Android app, I don’t see it getting off the ground.

This is a similar problem to Apple News, which is not only restricted to iOS, but also to regions — whenever I see a link on Twitter or elsewhere, and I click it, I get a ‘this news item is not available in your location’ message, which has led me to just stop clicking on the links. Months of this kind of behaviour have taught me to avoid them altogether.

The app is being developed in the same Apple department that developed Final Cut Pro and iMovie software, according to the people.

I use Final Cut Pro. It does almost everything that I need, but I do wish it would improve at a faster pace. It just seems as if Apple has abandoned their pro tools.

Apple is striving for a 2017 release, the people said, adding that the project could be killed if it doesn’t meet the company’s timetable and expectations.

I wonder it this means it will be released with iOS 11 or whenever it’s ready. Linking it to iOS release cycles would be a mistake, since an app like this wouldn’t get updated as often as it should. I’m also worried that it will be basically abandoned in time, when the team gets pulled to do different projects. These are my worries mostly based on Apple’s historical behaviour.

Separate from its video sharing app, Apple has developed and tested multiple social-related features for its iPhone and iPad operating system over the past year that have yet to be released, according to people familiar with the matter. One system that has been tested and still may launch in the future is a bolstered version of the “proactive assistance” functionality.

The proposed enhancements are designed to more effectively connect users with their contacts, one of the people said. Apple’s goal is to make sharing and connectivity with contacts a system-wide feature, the people said. The company has also worked to consolidate communications between users into single panels. For example, two friends could be able to see all text messages, e-mails, and social network interactions between each other in a single window, one of the people said.

Now this sounds interesting. I was just looking for a conversation the other day with a friend — checked Twitter, Slack, Facebook, and I still didn’t find it. Turned out it was in Messages.