The Apple Vision Pro App Store made its debut, but some prominent apps like Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify were notably absent. Despite this, there's optimism for YouTube users, as the company expressed enthusiasm for the Vision Pro launch, confirming plans for a dedicated app in the future in a statement to The Verge. The release timeline, however, remains uncertain, given Google and YouTube's tendency to take their time adopting new Apple features.
While anticipating the official YouTube app, users can explore the Juno app by developer Christian Selig, designed for watching YouTube on the Vision Pro. Another option is accessing YouTube videos through the Safari browser. Unfortunately, neither Juno nor Safari currently supports viewing YouTube's 360 and 3D videos.
Apple told The Verge it attributes the lack of support for this content to its origin on devices lacking a high-quality spatial experience and potential motion discomfort. Apple is prioritizing the delivery of an optimal spatial media experience, covering spatial photos and videos, Apple Immersive Video, and 3D movies available on Apple TV.
The confirmation on whether YouTube's eventual app will include support for 3D content is still pending. Apple is actively involved in supporting WebXR content, offering the potential to view YouTube VR videos on the web through Safari.
However, this technology is in its early stages and does not fully leverage the capabilities of the Apple Vision Pro and visionOS.
Apple's contributions to W3C web standards, including WebXR, aim to enhance the overall web experience on their innovative device.
