iPhone, Safari & YouTube

The latest version of the iPhone 2.0 firmware -- bundled with the beta 5 SDK -- adds limited support for YouTube within the Safari web browser, experimenting has revealed. Users of the current public iPhone firmware can only browse videos through the dedicated app; under v2.0 though, videos embedded in websites now present a link, which opens clips under the dedicated app, but then lets users quickly return to the page they were viewing.

Videos can only be played through the separate app, however, and not within websites. Similarly, access to YouTube.com is still restricted, as it continues to request Flash support that the iPhone firmware lacks. Both Apple and Adobe have expressed a desire to add support, but Apple CEO Steve Jobs has claimed that Flash will not be added until it does not significantly drain battery power.

by MacNN Staff