Apple updated its iOS 6 operating system today and as part of the update, the YouTube app, which has come as one of the preloaded apps on the iPhone since launch, is gone.

The New York Times has more: “Apple said in a statement that ‘our license to include the YouTube app in iOS has ended.’ It added that owners of its devices would be able to use their Web browsers to view YouTube videos, and that Google was working on a new YouTube app that would be available through the Apple App Store.”

The app is the second Google-owned app to be dropped from the iOS 6 update, as Apple has done away with Google Maps in iOS 6, and replaced the Google app with its own new map app.

Engadget points out that the YouTube app will still exist on iOS 5 and older devices. Here is more from the blog: “Granted, the amount of iOS 5 users will dip dramatically in the months following iOS 6′s release this fall, but it leaves open the question of compatibility — will the forthcoming YouTube app for iOS 6 be installable on iOS 5 and older?”

Personally, this blogger has always found the icon for the YouTube app on the iPhone to be a little odd. Rather than the well-known logo for the video site, the app uses the above image, which is not always instantly recognizable. Perhaps the updated app in iTunes will use the new logo.