Google updated its YouTube Capture for iOS app today with a raft of advanced, yet accessible video-editing features geared towards vloggers and creative types who want to graduate from Vine and Instagram.

While holding your iPhone or iPad in landscape mode – YouTube still opts for a traditional aspect ratio – you can now record your shots using the tap and hold gesture pioneered by Vine. There’s still the option to just press the on-screen record button for longer shots, but it’s clear that Google is striving for a far simpler user experience across all aspects of the app.

Finished clips bounce into a circular bubble in the top right-hand corner, with a time-stamp to display the total duration of your combined shots. Tapping the bubble brings up a trimmed down editing mode where – again, just like Vine – you can rearrange shots as you please. By pressing the plus symbol in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, you can also import new clips that are already stored in your Camera Roll.

Tapping each clip thumbnail then shows a frame-by-frame breakdown of the clip: Here, you can trim the shot by dragging the sliders on either side of the screen. That’s unique to YouTube (although not for other video-editing apps) and you can also add music either from your own music library or YouTube’s expanded selection of backing tracks.

Once you’re done, it’s just a case of uploading your project to a YouTube channel and sharing it on Google+, Facebook or Twitter depending on your preference. If you’re feeling shackled by the 6 and 15-second video restrictions imposed by Vine and Instagram, it’s worth taking another look at YouTube Capture.

Unless you own an Android device, of course.

➤ YouTube Capture | iOS

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Image Credit: ERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty Images

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