Vine iOS app now lets you follow channels: Less browsing, more watching

Twitter-owned Vine has rolled out a new update for iOS 8 to encourage viewers to see more of the app's six-second looping videos, to stay longer on the app and to provide broadcasters with an easier, faster and more seamless method to upload their creations.

The updated Vine, which is now available as a download from Apple's App Store, now allows users to follow topical channels, such as Comedy, News and Style.

Previously, Vine users can only follow individual friends and creators but not channels. Whenever a user wants to view videos in a certain channel, he has to dig into the app and actively search for the vines he wants to watch from some 200 other top videos crowding the channel. However, the updated feature now allows Vine users to follow channels, which will bring hand-picked vines by Vine editors to the user's feed without the user having to follow those individual creators. For instance, if a user follows the Comedy channel, Vine will choose a selection of top-rated videos that will automatically appear on the user's feed. This way, users who frequently browse certain channels but do not necessarily want to follow all the creators on that channel can get the best vines without having to revisit those channels and inundate themselves with vines they do not want to watch. On the creator side, Vine is now letting users share their videos without having to open the app first.

With the new update, broadcasters can simply take a video and share the video from their Camera Roll or any other video editing software they use on their iOS devices. If the video is longer than six seconds, Vine will open the video on the Trim and Crop screen so users can cut down the video's length to fit the app's requirements before the new vine is shared to their followers.

For users who cannot find the option on their Camera Roll, they simply have to tap More and choose Vine.