Curious: Why does iPhone let you 'swipe' to delete videos?

[MBHockey]

It has always been true (I believe) that you can't delete content directly from an iPod. You need to have it hooked up to iTunes and either manually delete it, or delete it on whatever your are syncing with your iPod.

So I found it strange when I accidentally swiped on the screen of my iPhone in the videos section of the iPod and found it prompted me with the familiar Delete button (the one from email, contacts, and text messages swiping instances.)

Why is this the case? Has this always been known? Why can you delete videos this way, but not songs?

 

[Sobe]

movies take up a lot of space.

 

[MBHockey]

That's it?

 

[Sobe]

why else?

Think about it...you watch law and order...do you really want to save it on your iphone?

You watch it then if you don't want to watch it again..bam delete it off the iphone and it's gone.

it's not like you don't have a copy of it on your hard drive anyway.

 

[MBHockey]

But if the sole reason for deleting videos is to free up space, and the sole means for putting songs on is through iTunes, it seems self-defeating.

Maybe it lies in the fact that you can free up space for pictures taken with iPhone's camera or Mail attachments. Even still, that amount of space is usually negligible when compared with the size of a video file, and it would make more sense to delete a couple of songs in this scenario.

I still don't see a good reason...but maybe that's just me

 

[4ndr3w]

um. why do you care? if you don't see the point don't use it. i think that it's a great feature.

 

[MBHockey]

As the thread title states, because I'm curious. I thought that much would be obvious, but you're knee-jerk response indicates you are severely missing the point. I'm not saying "This is stupid, i don't like it, why is it there?!" That whole reading thing...yeah...

Can you elaborate on why you like the feature so much based on its utility?

 

[Sobe]

think of it as an easy way to flag a video on your iPhone as "watched - do not wish to keep" and focus less on the freeing up space part.

 

[marksman]

The reason is simple.

You can put substantial and sizable content onto the iPhone besides through iTunes. So they needed a way for people to clear stuff off to make room.

 

[D1G1T4L]

The odds of you rewatching a movie over before you have time to sync again are pretty lower over the chance of you wanting to hear a song over again.

Removing movies free up a good bit of space after you watch them.

 

[MBHockey]

The odds of you rewatching a movie over before you have time to sync again are pretty lower over the chance of you wanting to hear a song over again.

Ah, finally a convincing point. Thanks.

 

[toomer]

think of it as an easy way to flag a video on your iPhone as "watched - do not wish to keep" and focus less on the freeing up space part.

Actually, when you fill your iPhone just about to complete (I have about 300mb free on my 8gb) when you get done watching a video - like a video podcast, music video, etc. - it will actually pop up a dialog box at the end asking if you want to delete it to make more space on the phone.

 

[vansouza]

No hidden meaning..

Just to make room for more... I have 12 episodes of Dexter, all will not fit into the iPhone... as I watch and "delete" them it makes more room for more episodes to be uploaded. Seems like a feature to me.

 

[Sobe]

Actually, when you fill your iPhone just about to complete (I have about 300mb free on my 8gb) when you get done watching a video - like a video podcast, music video, etc. - it will actually pop up a dialog box at the end asking if you want to delete it to make more space on the phone.

yes I am aware of that. I was trying to explain above and beyond the obvious which you will see in the responses prior to the one you quoted.

 

[Julien]

....Removing movies free up a good bit of space after you watch them.

What good does it do to free up this space sine you can't refill it (unless you take a few hundred pictures and add a thousand Contacts)?

 

[Gonzlobo]

I wonder why audio podcasts aren't deletable on command?

(Yes fanboys, I know they're quite a bit smaller.)

 

[D1G1T4L]

What good does it do to free up this space sine you can't refill it (unless you take a few hundred pictures and add a thousand Contacts)?

But if you have your phone filled the one medium that is less likey to be used more than once before you get a chance to sync is a video/movie over a song.

So you have the option to remove the video/movie to free up space.

I wonder why audio podcasts aren't deletable on command?

(Yes fanboys, I know they're quite a bit smaller.)

Have no clue what or why fanboys has anything to do with this..........

That would be nice seeing how it does register the played video podcast that have been deleted as played in iTunes. Might have something to do on the audio side of the house though.