Vimeo revamps iPhone app, makes it sleeker, easier to use

Vimeo has launched a sleek new iPhone app that has been built from the ground up. The new version of the video sharing app has been made in a step to improve its viewing and upload processes.

In a company blog post, Joseph Schmitt, lead developer at Vimeo, said that the ‘reimagined’ iPhone app was "awesomer, sleeker, more beautiful, way awesomer, and also much more awesomer than ever before."

The sleek looking new Vimeo

The previous Vimeo app had face a lot of criticism over trying to bring in all the features of its website onto the phone to an audience who didn’t want them. The new app has done away with the editor function, which was rarely put to use anyway. This move has made uploads way faster, easier and more hassle free.

Another feature that makes using it a delight is the fact that it uploads videos in the background, while you fill in details like the name of the video, where to share it, etc. There is also a good looking status bar that shows you the status of your upload using which you can pause and resume uploads. It also automatically manages uploads so the progress isn’t lost if your phone loses connectivity midway.

The new Vimeo app has also made watching and discovering new videos a breeze by moving from a grid view to a tab based view. The four buttons at the bottom of the screen - besides the capture button- include watch later, and explore.

Users can share videos with ease too in-app, on Facebook, Twitter, through email, iMessage and SMS. This app, unlike its predecessor, has been completely built by the Vimeo staff.

Vimeo has had a busy year. From appointing a new CEO and a reworked new website to adding a ‘tip jar’ and paywall options, Vimeo has had quite a makeover. The feature launched in September allowed Vimeo Plus or Pro members to add a button to their videos that let users click and donate anything between $0.99 and $500, in order to help the creators make more money. A pay-to-view service was also announced.

The upload continues in the background while you explore new videos

The mobile app has become crucial for video sharing websites with even YouTube releasing an app for iPhones. The app that came preloaded with Apple products previously had to release a new app when its license to include the YouTube app in the iOS operating system had ended in August. The pre-installed YouTube app -- which was actually built by Apple using YouTube standards -- was not as full-featured as YouTube's own website, but it was popular. The app that was finally released in the iOS App Store by Google also for the first time featured advertisements unlike the time it was a preloaded app.

The Vimeo blog post was mum about an iPad app on the same lines. Nothing about rolling out these changes to Android was mentioned either.

You can download the Vimeo app for iPhone from the App Store here.