Snapchat's latest update has solved a problem that has dogged mobile video since its inception. Before this update you couldn't record a video and listen to music at the same time. The music playing on your device would pause until the video finished recording.
Thanks to the update released on Feb. 18, music playing on the phone is included in the video recording on top of ambient sound from the handset's microphone. This allows Snapchat enthusiasts to create their own music videos and will no doubt help to increase the apps ever expanding user base. There's also the side benefit that you don't have to interrupt your listening to record your short lived videos.
At the time of writing, the new feature was only available on iOS and not yet on Android, but it could give Snapchat the edge over its mobile video competitors like Vine and Instagram which still pause any music before recording video. Incidentally, the same problem occurs when recording on built-in video apps for iPhone and Android.
The feature isn't perfect however. The major complaint to date is that if you want your voice to be audible over the music you have shout into the mic whilst recording. You also have to manually pause the music you're listening to in order to preview the Snapchat before you post, though maybe you're not supposed to preview it. The update also comes just a week after Snapchat controversially blocked Mindie, an app that allowed users to add music to their videos.
This isn't going to bother Snapchat's army of active users (now somewhere between 100 million and 200 million), who are already littering the site with hundreds of lip syncing videos. The not-yet-four-year-old company released its latest round of funding earlier in the week which puts a valuation somewhere between $14 billion and $16 dollars on Snapchat.
