One of the challenges that some aspiring TikTok rivals faced is that they often lack the same robust set of content creation tools, such as filters, effects and tools to redirect content from others – like TikTok’s Stitch and Duet, for example. Now it looks like Snapchat is working to fix the latter problem, however, as it was detected working on a feature similar to TikTok Duets called “Remix”, designed to respond to Snaps. This feature will allow users to create new content using their friends’ Snaps – a “remix”, that is.
Initially, the feature will allow users to respond to a friend’s story with a remixed Snap. To do this, you can record your own Snap alongside the original while it is playing – as a TikTok duet.
The feature, which Snap confirms has been launched in external tests, follows the Instagram public test of a feature called “Remix” with a focus on Reels content. (It also had tested a version for stories as a first step.)
In the case of Instagram, the company explains that Remix allows anyone to create an Instagram Reel where their video and theirs are played side by side. This is essentially the very version of Instagram’s TikTok Duets, a tool that is often used to interact with the content of other TikTok users. In Duets, TikTok users can sing, dance, play or act alongside another user’s video; cook someone else’s recipe; record reaction videos; boost videos from lesser-known creators; and more. It is an essential part of what makes TikTok look like a social network, rather than just a platform for more passive video viewing.
Last fall, TikTok announced that it was introducing several new layout options for Duets, in addition to the left-to-right layout, including a new top-to-bottom layout, a special “reaction” layout and a three-screen layout.
Some of those same duet formats and others now seem to be being considered by Snap as well.
In their Remix feature, Snapchat users are presented with a screen where they can choose from a variety of options for combining Snaps – including side-by-side and top and bottom formats, as well as others like where the content is overlaid or where you can react to a Snap.
Image credits: Snapchat Remix feature photo via @ alex193a on Twitter
According to reverse engineering Alessandro Paluzzi, who first noticed the addition, Remix also offers a way for users to tag friends or others who wish to be allowed to remix or share their Snap via a new toggle button.
It seems that users will be able to access the “Remix” feature in the same menu, where today you can report a Snap or send it to others.
That menu, of course, is also available on Snapchat’s new competitor TikTok, known as Spotlight, launched last year.
Although the Remix is initially being tested with friends, we understand that it is expected to reach other parts of the Snapchat app over time. And that would probably include Spotlight. Much like TikTok, Spotlight offers a video feed filled with short, fun videos that you can scroll through by swiping up and down, usually with popular music – thanks to Snap’s music business. This would be a natural fit for Remixes, as it is a common way for users to interact with each other’s content to create a dialogue.
Image credits: Snapchat Remix feature photo via @ alex193a on Twitter (opens in a new window)
Snap confirmed with TechCrunch that it is starting to test Remix in its application.
“I can confirm that externally we are testing the ability to respond to a friend’s story with a remixed Snap,” said a spokesman. “It allows you to develop your friend’s Snap while recording your own alongside the original while playing contextual conversations on Snapchat,” they noted.
The company has not offered an ETA for broader implementation at this time.