Instagram is probably the biggest thing in photography for the mainstream consumer at the moment no thanks to their fantastic mobile app/service. While there are certainly many areas Instagram could improve, no one can argue with the fact that it has become a big name in both iOS and Android users’ vocabulary. But very soon, iOS users at least could have a new in-house photo sharing app/service to talk about.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple will unveil new photo sharing features within iCloud at WWDC in June. The service, as the WSJ describes it, will allow sharing to other users (services unknown) and also allow said users to comment on shared photos.
If Apple is looking to expand on iCloud/social sharing of pictures, it will be yet again another attempt by Apple to get hot and heavy into the social arena. If you look back just a couple years ago, Apple unveiled “Ping” in iTunes, a service that was supposed to make finding and sharing music with friends on iTunes a lot more social and fun. Labels/artists were also supposed to be heavily benefit from increased sales due to more exposure as well as creating a much closer relationship with fans. So far Ping has been a non-story. No one cares about it and even fewer use it.
In the mobile social/photo market, Instagram is as we said above, a huge player despite the company’s tiny size. If Apple can finally get their foot in the door, it will open up an entirely new avenue for Apple to tap into for both new products and revenue.
9to5Mac speculates that the WSJ’s story could possibly tie in with Apple’s Phil Schiller recently leaving Instagram. When questioned on his departure, Schiller simply stated he left Instagram because it had “jumped the shark”, an obvious hit at the company’s embracing of Android by releasing a new Android app. In actuality, it very well could simply be a matter of removing himself from the competition in preparation for his company’s own in-house solution.
It goes without saying that this years WWDC is looking like the biggest one yet.
Source: WSJ | Via: 9to5 Mac
Image Source: Pocket-Lint
