Watch Out TikTok: YouTube Shorts Has Just Arrived in Australia

We love a good tech giant battle.

TikTok’s tight grip on Gen Z could be under threat 'cos YouTube has just launched their own version of TikTok called YouTube Shorts, which is now available in Australia.

The new service by YouTube allows users to share 15-second videos that can be quickly edited with a bunch of tools including access to use popular songs that are exclusive to YouTube’s massive music library.

Side note: we're pretty sure all these tech giants have given up on innovation and are openly copying each other’s ideas. It’s like Instagram looked over TikTok’s shoulder in class and thought “I’ll copy this and call it Reels.” Then YouTube saw what Instagram was doing and was like “Well if Instagram can copy TikTok then so can I.”

Tell me I’m wrong.

How to find YouTube Shorts

To access the new YouTube Shorts feature you won’t need to download anything new as it is already built into the current YouTube app (although you might need to update it). To find it, open the YouTube app and tap the ‘+’ icon at the bottom of your screen.

Here it will pop up with different video uploading options. Select ‘Create a Short’ and then you’re ready to start creating your own YouTube Short.

youtube is trying to push "shorts" and instagram is trying to become more video based hoping that they can get a taste of that decadent tiktok cake but everyone just steals and reposts tiktoks and old vines

— almond🍊 (@watery_day) July 12, 2021

Which is better, TikTok or YouTube Shorts?

At the moment, YouTube Shorts is still in beta phase—basically they’re still working on it—so it's not a fair fight when comparing the two.

For now, you can only create a video that’s a max of 15 seconds in Shorts, but YouTube have said they will start to add more features in the future. In comparison, TikTok started with a max video length of 60 seconds before recently adding a feature for three-minute videos. 

If you're wanting all the bells and whistles, TikTok still takes the cake, but having played around a little with YouTube Shorts we must admit it is easier to edit videos and add text compared to TikTok. 

Watch this space to see who wins in this battle of the apps.

Header Image: YouTube