Facebook is developing stand-alone camera app to battle Snapchat: Report

By Steve Pak, | April 26, 2016

Facebook App

Facebook App

Facebook is reportedly in the early stages of creating a stand-alone camera app that is similar to the Snapchat app. The new software is being developed by the social giant's "friends-sharing" team in London, England. A feature of the software would allow users to record video for live-streaming.

Like Us on Facebook

The news was reported by The Wall Street Journal. It is possible the concept would not become an actual product.

During the past Facebook has been promoting its video products as it loses ground to Snapchat. SunTrust analyst Robert Peck compared the plans of the two video platforms on April 25, Monday, according to Business Insider.     

During the past nine months ending in February 2016 Snapchat quadruped its daily video views. The number of daily video views surged from 2 billion to 8 billion, which represents much faster growth than the world's largest social network.  

Peck argues that Facebook is battling Snapchat for attention rather than content. This will result in many content creators making content for both platforms like brands and celebrities.

Facebook still has a big lead in daily average users (DAUs). It reported over 1 billion DAUs in Q1 2016 while Peck calculates Snapchat has about 150 million.  

As a result the two platforms will fight to become the top company for watching video, and Snapchat is quickly catching up to Facebook.

In related news, Napster co-founder Sean Parker is bringing back the Airtime app that he and Shawn Fanning launched in 2012. It is now being beta tested as a group video app, according to Engadget.  

The app's concept is to make a "room" where friends can chat like Google Hangouts, listen to music, watch videos, and share links.

This is a big change from the original app where users often chatted with strangers. Parker explains that the mobile app now has a casual room style that is more like real life, while avoiding a livestreaming focus used for apps like Periscope and Meerkat.

Airtime will instead let friends share content privately like sitting on a couch and watching TV. It includes content such as photos, YouTube videos, livestreams, and big public events.   

Parker explains that developers faced some challenges to bring back the app. However, he believes the result is better than similar applications from Google and Skype.

Here are some Snapchat tips:


©2024 Telegiz All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission
Real Time Analytics