Apple quietly pulled the plug on Clips this week. The video editing app disappeared from the App Store on October 10, marking the end of an eight-year experiment that never quite caught fire.
Most people didn’t even know it existed. That tells you everything about why Apple’s shutting it down.
What Clips Was Supposed to Be
Back in 2017, Apple launched Clips as its answer to Snapchat and Instagram Stories. The idea seemed solid enough. Give iPhone users a simple tool to stitch together short videos with filters, emojis, and music.
But here’s the catch. Clips wasn’t a social network. It was just an editing tool. So you’d create videos in Clips, then share them somewhere else. That extra step killed any chance of mainstream adoption.
Plus, Apple already had iMovie on iOS. Sure, Clips was simpler. But was it different enough to justify a separate app? Most users didn’t think so.
The Slow Death Started Years Ago
Apple kept adding features for the first couple years. Then updates basically stopped. Recent versions only got bug fixes, nothing new.
That’s usually the first sign an app’s on life support. When a company stops investing in new features, the writing’s on the wall.
Now Apple’s encouraging existing users to export their Clips videos to the Photos app. Translation: we’re not maintaining this anymore, so save your stuff while you still can.
Why Simple Editing Apps Can’t Compete
The problem with Clips goes deeper than just Apple’s execution. Simple video editing apps face brutal competition from all sides.
On one end, you’ve got full-featured editors like iMovie and Adobe Premiere Rush. They handle serious projects. On the other end, social apps like TikTok and Instagram Reels built editing tools directly into their platforms.
So where does a standalone simple editor fit? Nowhere, really. If you want quick edits, you’ll do them in your social app. If you need more power, you’ll use a real editor.
Clips tried to occupy this middle ground that doesn’t actually exist. That’s a losing strategy every time.
The AI Angle Makes It Worse
Timing matters here. Apple’s killing Clips right as AI video tools are exploding.
OpenAI’s Sora app just hit 1 million downloads. It generates entire videos from text prompts. Why spend time shooting and editing real footage when AI can create whatever you imagine?
That shift makes Clips feel especially outdated. It’s built around capturing real moments and adding effects. But the future of casual video creation might not involve cameras at all.
So Apple’s getting out before the app becomes completely irrelevant.
What This Says About Apple’s App Strategy
Apple doesn’t kill apps often. When they do, it’s usually because an app either failed to gain traction or got replaced by something better.
Clips falls into the first category. It never found an audience despite being free and preinstalled on many devices. That’s a pretty damning verdict.
But Apple learned something valuable here. Sometimes simplicity isn’t enough. An app needs a clear purpose and a reason to exist separate from alternatives.
Clips didn’t have either. It was a solution looking for a problem that nobody really had.
Existing Users Get a Grace Period
If you’re one of the few people who actually used Clips, you can still access it. The app works on current iOS and iPadOS versions. You can even re-download it from your Apple account if needed.
However, without future updates, compatibility will break eventually. New iOS features won’t work with Clips. Bugs won’t get fixed. The app will gradually become less functional.
So Apple’s advice makes sense. Export your videos now while everything still works. Don’t wait until the app stops launching entirely.
The Bigger Picture for Apple Services
Apple’s been pushing services hard lately. Apple TV Plus, Apple Music, Apple Arcade. But Clips never fit that model. It was free with no subscription option.
That made it easy to cut. Apps that don’t generate revenue and don’t drive hardware sales become expendable. Clips did neither, so it got the axe.
This probably won’t be the last casualty. Apple’s app portfolio includes other niche tools that might not justify ongoing development. Watch for more quiet shutdowns in the future.
Apple’s moving on from experiments that didn’t pan out. Clips was one of them. Most users won’t even notice it’s gone.
