Apple iPhone users are going to want to update this app now even if they haven't used it yet

Have you ever used Apple's video creation app Clips? If it didn't come by default on your iPhone or iPad, the app can be installed from the App Store. Clips allows you to tell a story through the creation of multiple clips which can be sent to friends or family members. Even if you've never edited a video on your iPhone before, you'll find Clips easy to use. Videos can be made in both landscape and portrait on the iPhone and iPad. And you can even choose from different aspect ratios (9:16 vertical, 16:9 horizontal, 3:4 vertical, and 4:3 horizontal).

With Clips you can create video for Instagram Stories, YouTube, Snapchat, and more. And while the front-facing FaceTime camera is okay to use, the rear camera array will give you a more refined look. Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of Apps Product Marketing, says, "Since its introduction, Clips has become one of the most popular iOS video creation apps, and millions of projects are made every day with it. Users love how easy it is to create fun, expressive videos for sharing with friends, family, and classmates with just a few taps on their iPhone or iPad screens. Today’s update, with a streamlined interface, support for vertical and horizontal video, HDR video capture using the new iPhone 12 or iPhone 12 Pro, and fun new effects, will help users create Clips videos with more personality and polish than ever before."

If you don't have the latest version of Clips installed, open the App Store and tap the circle with your initials. Scroll down the list of updates and look for the Clips icon (which looks very much like Google's Duo icon) and click on "Update." Swipe up on the Effects browser to see a full-height card with stickers and text labels. The update brings eight new stickers, six additional arrows and shapes, and 25 new soundtracks. Videos can be customized with thanks to filters, animated stickers, and animated full-screen posters. The app features over 100 soundtracks that automatically adjust to match the length of videos.

The iPad version of Clips has also been changed with an easy-to-reach record button and large Effects browsers. Apple notes that using Clips on the iPad "makes it even simpler for young creators, students, and teachers to make great videos. Users can take full advantage of the iPad display by recording and editing in landscape orientation — an experience that is further optimized when paired with Magic Keyboard or Smart Keyboard, and a Bluetooth mouse or trackpad. Clips automatically opens to a new 4:3 landscape project, the optimal size for full-screen videos on iPad. And Clips now supports the new Scribble feature in iPadOS 14, converting handwritten text with Apple Pencil into typed text in labels and posters."

If you've yet to try out Clips, check it out now. Apple has some great ideas when to use the app: personal video messages, slideshows, school projects and mini-music. And with Live Titles, captions of a user's voice can be displayed on the screen. Before you decide to share a video from the Clips app, you'll be able to watch a preview to make sure everything looks like it should. And the new Clips features a more streamlined UI that will feel like a blast of fresh air to those who have used the app before.

Apple says that some of the updates that it made to the Clips app are ones that have been requested for some time. The app is free with no in-app purchases available.