iOS6b4 was seeded late yesterday for developers registered with Apple. The big news is that the dedicated YouTube app is gone – which has had a largely negative reaction from those assuming that this is Apple being a bully to Google.
What is more likely and more realistic is that Apple’s license with Google has run dry, thus the YouTube app has to go. Moreover, both parties must be sick of that awful app, and the fact that in order to update it the entire OS must update. Having a dedicated app by Google makes more sense, and allows Google to generate ad revenue too.
The more worrying thing for me is that the initial setup of iOS6 now involves a check box that dictates that @icloud.com emails are active (and test working) and are given more precedence than @me.com (or, presumably, @mac.com) addresses. I love my @me.com address, and it’s been my primary email account since I got mobileMe way back when. I would like to keep it, but pushing @icloud.com on iOS sounds to me like Apple are gearing up for the big shut down.
