The latest iPhone app from Google lets you enjoy YouTube videos with your friends no matter where they are.
Uptime, designed by the company’s Area 120 startup incubator, is a group messaging client that allows you to share, watch, and talk about your favorite clips in real time.
Area 120, launched last May, is a Google initiative that gives employees a platform to launch their own companies during their “20 percent” time (when they’re permitted to work on side projects). Uptime is the first product of that initiative, and it’s available now.
After installing the app on your iPhone, you’ll be prompted to login to your Google account. A short video explains how Uptime works, and then you’re free to find and share a video you love.
As you’re watching a video, your profile picture travels around a progress bar that frames the screen. If friends are watching, you’ll see their profile picture, too, so you’ll know which point in the video they’re at.
Like Facebook Live clips, you can react to the video as it’s playing with comments and emoji icons. Your friends see what you’ve added in real time, and you’ll see their reactions. You can also favorite videos, and get new recommendations from friends and people you follow.
Uptime is better suited to videos in portrait, since watching content in landscape mode takes away the ability to react to it. There’s currently no way to record or stream your own videos, either. What’s more, there’s no Uptime app for Android just yet.
Nevertheless, this is a promising start for what could be a stellar app. It makes sharing YouTube videos with friends easier and more enjoyable, and it’s free to download from the App Store now. Use invite code “PIZZA” to get started.
https://twitter.com/uptimeApp/status/840689484400214016
