I downloaded Clips when it was released in April, but I genuinely can’t remember if I ever actually opened it. I’m sure I did at launch, and maybe again after the big update in July, but this isn’t an app that I’ve spent a lot of time with. However, Clips 2.0 has been a little different. (This isn’t a review in any way. Check out MacStories first if you have no idea what Clips is.)

With the iPad 2, back in early 2011, Apple brought Photo Booth to the iPad1. I distinctly remember thinking that this was a no-brainer at the time. Growing up in Ghana, there weren’t that many Macs in my high school, but everybody that had one used Photo Booth. It was very regular to walk into the sixth form (senior year) common room and see groups of friends, myself included, behind a MacBook playing with the filters. Talking to several of my American friends, it sounds like it was the same deal here2. I always thought that it was only a matter of time before Apple brought Photo Booth to the iPhone, but six years later it still just ships with Macs and iPads (and I don’t think that it’s been updated in that time).

Playing with the Selfie Scenes in Clips last week, I had the same feeling that I did playing with Photo Booth on my Mac many years ago. It was a little surreal, as someone with incredible front-camera shyness, to find myself having so much fun with it. The whole experience had me thinking: In a few years, once the Face ID technology has spread to the rest of the iOS line (and maybe even the Mac), could Clips be the successor to Photo Booth? Between Selfie Scenes, stickers, Live Titles, and fast sharing to social media, it seems the perfect fit.

While I’m no longer young enough to know if ‘the yutes’ are still using Photo Booth on their Macs (or iPads), I’m confident that they aren’t. This is the Snapchat generation and I think that it’ll take a lot to change that, especially since Selfie Scenes are tied exclusively to the iPhone X right now. Maybe Animoji in Clips could do it? All I know is that those few days with Clips took me right back to senior year of high school. It’s just another example of how Apple is starting to delight again this year3.

  1. This was back when Apple would release first-party apps on iOS to show off the power of the platform. I miss those days. More on that in a little bit. ↩

  2. It’s actually a little uncanny, I had two people immediately respond with almost exactly what I said: Not a lot of Macs in high school, but groups of friends would find one and indulge. It was common to see Photo Booth pictures on Facebook and Tumblr. ↩

  3. As Myke Hurley posited on the latest episode of Cortex, Apple’s year starts and ends with WWDC. We’re halfway through the year and it’s been a really good one so far. ↩