Google is expanding its YouTube Create app to iOS, nearly two years after launching it on Android.

Job listings show the company is hiring engineers in Bengaluru, India, to build the iOS version.

The app, which offers free video editing tools for Shorts and long-form videos, first launched in September 2023 and expanded globally by February 2024 to compete with ByteDance’s CapCut.

Despite the rollout, YouTube Create has struggled to gain traction. It had fewer than 500,000 downloads in Q2 2025, while CapCut had 66 million and InShot had 21 million on Android.

CapCut also led in engagement, with 442 million monthly active users on Android and 194 million on iOS. YouTube Create had fewer than one million users.

🔗 Source: TechCrunch

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Fierce competition in the rapidly growing mobile video editing market

YouTube Create is entering an increasingly lucrative market that’s projected to grow from $0.95 billion in 2024 to $4.93 billion by 2033, representing a compound annual growth rate of 20.14% 1.

The competitive landscape is dominated by established players with overwhelming user advantages. CapCut boasts 442 million monthly active Android users compared to YouTube Create’s less than 1 million, while InShot maintains 92 million active users 2.

This engagement gap is reflected in usage patterns, with CapCut users spending an average of 62 minutes per month in the app across 23 sessions, while YouTube Create users average just 38 minutes across 11 sessions 2.

Retention metrics further illustrate the challenge, with YouTube Create showing approximately 1% 90-day retention compared to CapCut’s 7% and InShot’s 4%. This indicates that while users try the app, far fewer make it a regular part of their workflow 2.

Despite these challenges, YouTube Create’s 28% year-over-year growth in monthly active users outpaces CapCut’s 9% growth and InShot’s 7% decline, suggesting potential momentum that could be accelerated by the iOS launch 2.

2️⃣ Strategic geographic expansion mirrors evolving creator demographics

YouTube Create’s user base is undergoing significant geographic diversification, with India’s share of monthly active users dropping from 67% to 51% over the past year while maintaining strong engagement metrics 2.

The app is gaining particular traction in emerging creator markets, with year-over-year monthly active user increases of 119% in Spain, 91% in South Korea, 89% in France, and 71% in Singapore 2.

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