iPhone gets embedded YouTube player

Following in the footsteps of the Apple TV, the forthcoming iPhone will feature a built-in YouTube player.

Apple said that it has added the player to the iPhone's OS X software, making the service available to users when the device ships in the US on 29 June. Users will be able to download the videos through a Wi-Fi or Edge connection.

The iPhone YouTube service will initially be limited, as the videos need to be compressed into a new format known as H.264 in order to preserve battery life and video quality.

Apple promised that at least 10,000 YouTube videos will be available when the iPhone launches, and that the entire YouTube catalogue will be converted to the new format by the Autumn.

The company did not say whether any upload functions will be included in the software. YouTube Mobile allows users to upload videos directly from mobile devices.

The unveiling of the YouTube player comes nine days before the iPhone's official release and just two days after Apple revealed that talk time for the mobile will be three hours longer than originally estimated.

The YouTube service for Apple TV, first announced by Apple chief executive Steve Jobs in May, has already gone live.

The company said that Apple TV owners will need to update the set-top box's software via the software update component before accessing the YouTube service.