Shorts is now live in India, coming to more markets soon

Sep 15, 2020 09:44 GMT  ·  By

The interest in TikTok has been pretty huge, with several tech giants, including Microsoft and Twitter, trying to take over the Chinese Internet phenomenon.

And while parent company ByteDance has picked Oracle as its “trusted tech partner,” tech companies have suddenly discovered that TikTok indeed created a new market where there’s still plenty of room for other services.

Google didn’t want to buy TikTok, although Alphabet was part of a group of investors who reportedly considered a potential bid, so what the company did instead was build its very own alternative.

Called Shorts and powered by YouTube, Google’s TikTok rival is available in a very limited private beta in India today, but it’s supposed to be expanded to other markets when the testing advances.

Currently in limited private beta

Shorts is a service that allows users to create videos of up to 15 seconds and then post them online, with a list of followers to then see the content in a timeline. Google is also providing a series of tools for creators, including a multi-segment camera to stitch multiple clips together, record with music from YouTube, speed controls, and a timer and countdown.

“We also recently rolled-out a prominent new spot for the create icon on Android, starting in India. We'll continue to expand to iOS devices and in more countries soon. You can also expect more creation features in the coming months.,” YouTube explains.

At this point, there are no details as to when Shorts could launch across the world, but Google’s intention is pretty clear now. TikTok has created an Internet sensation that others want to be part of as well, so expect more companies to launch similar services rather sooner than later.

Oddly enough, Microsoft, which was in pole position to buy TikTok, isn’t planning to invest in this side of the market.