Instagram head Adam Mosseri has announced Edits, a new video editing app designed to compete with TikTok’s CapCut. The app, now available for preorder on the iOS App Store, promises a robust suite of tools for creators, offering a comprehensive editing experience.
“There’s a lot going on right now, but no matter what happens, it’s our job to provide the best possible tools for creators,” Mosseri stated in a video shared on Instagram. He detailed the app’s features, highlighting its all-encompassing creative toolkit:
- Dedicated Inspiration Tab: A space for discovering new ideas.
- Idea Tracker: Tools to organize and revisit early concepts.
- Enhanced Camera: Higher-quality video capture.
- Collaborative Draft Sharing: Easily share drafts with friends and creators.
- Seamless Instagram Integration: Share videos directly with insights on performance.
Edits will also include advanced metrics, such as a live insights dashboard, follower versus non-follower engagement breakdowns, and analytics on user interactions like skipping behaviors. Key editing features like green screen functionality and video overlays—popular staples of TikTok videos—are also part of the offering.
In an interaction on Threads, Mosseri clarified that the ‘Edits’ app has been in development ‘for months’, and the first thing they wanted to do was to create a platform that was completely different from CapCut. He also said that while Instagram’s Edits app will have a broader array of features, he expects the people to warm up to it over time. This is to be expected because influencers and general content creators have been using CapCut in their workflow since a few years, and the inertia to switch to a new app will delay the app blowup.
What is truly intriguing is that Mosseri decided to announce the app on the back of the TikTok and other ByteDance owned apps in the USA. Had the announcement bee made at a different time, the user reactions may have been abit more neutral or eveni favour. At the moment though, it looks like there is more to this announcement than meets the eye.
The app will officially launch on March 13th, 2025.
