Katarzyna Petru
Nearly two years after the release of the Apple Vision Pro, users finally received a native YouTube app. Until now, content from the platform could only be viewed through the Safari browser, which meant limited support for 3D materials and 360-degree videos. Now the situation is changing, and the Vision Pro is gaining full support for the immersive formats known from YouTube. This is an important step, as such content best showcases the capabilities of mixed reality devices. Interestingly, an unofficial app called Juno appeared earlier but quickly disappeared from the App Store. Now Google is officially entering the platform.
Vision Pro Catches Up
So far, the Apple headset did not offer full support for spatial video on YouTube, while competing devices, such as Samsung's Galaxy XR, emphasized such features more strongly. The new application allows users to leverage the potential of 180 and 360-degree materials and 3D content in a more natural way. This makes the Vision Pro more appealing to creators and consumers of immersive films.
Will Google go further?
The emergence of YouTube could be a signal of broader cooperation between Apple and Google. In the background remains the partnership related to Gemini models, which could drive AI features in the Apple ecosystem. A natural next step would be an immersive version of Google Maps, similar to the one known from Samsung's XR devices. If YouTube proves to be a success, other Google services may come to Vision Pro more quickly than we expect.
The native YouTube app on Vision Pro is an important addition to Apple's headset offering. Users can finally make full use of the potential of 3D and 360-degree video without compromises. Now the question is whether this is a one-off move or the beginning of a larger presence of Google apps in Apple’s mixed reality world.
source: cnet.com
