CALIFORNIA – Google’s YouTube and Spotify Technology SA, the world’s most popular video and music services, are joining Netflix Inc. in steering clear of Apple Inc.’s upcoming mixed-reality headset.
YouTube said in a statement on Jan 18 that it is not planning to launch a new app for the Apple Vision Pro, nor will it allow its longstanding iPad application to work on the device – at least, for now. YouTube, like Netflix, is recommending that customers use a web browser if they want to see its content: “YouTube users will be able to use YouTube in Safari on the Vision Pro at launch.”
Spotify also is not planning a new app for visionOS – the Vision Pro’s operating system – and doesn’t expect to enable its iPad app to run on the device, according to a person familiar with matter. But the music service will still likely work from a web browser. Bloomberg News reported on Netflix’s decision on Jan 17.
The Vision Pro will include access to Apple’s apps for music and podcasts, which compete with Spotify’s offerings. But getting snubbed by Netflix, Spotify and YouTube means that the most popular streaming apps won’t be available when the headset launches on Feb 2. Apple has largely marketed the device as a platform for video, games and other entertainment.
YouTube is a particularly large omission for the product. When Apple’s original iPad launched in 2010, YouTube was one of a handful of apps preinstalled on the tablet. The company did not rule out eventually supporting the Vision Pro but said it had “no further plans to share at this time”.
YouTube and Spotify continue to offer popular apps for the iPhone and iPad. And that, theoretically, gave them an easy path toward supporting the Vision Pro. Developers with iPad software in the regular App Store will see those apps appear in the Vision Pro store by default. That means developers have to opt out if they do not want to participate.
Several other entertainment apps are still participating, including Disney+, Max, Peacock, ESPN and Amazon Prime Video. Altogether, Apple says the device will support more than 1 million titles in the headset’s App Store. The company will begin taking preorders for the Vision Pro on Jan 19.
YouTube and Spotify declined to say why they bowed out of supporting the US$3,499 (S$4,697) device. Spotify does not offer an app on competing headsets, such as Meta Platforms Inc.’s Quest, though YouTube does. Spotify also has been embroiled in a fight with Apple over App Store policies, but the decision on the Vision Pro is not related to that, according to the person familiar, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private.
Searches conducted by MacStories on Jan 18 indicated that other key iPhone and iPad apps, including Meta’s Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, aren’t currently set to work on the Vision Pro either. But that could change by the device’s launch, or those developers could be planning new dedicated versions for visionOS. Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Apple’s executive in charge of the Vision Pro told employees this week that he expects health care, technician training and education to eventually become key areas for the product. The company is also studying corporate applications, Bloomberg News reported on Jan 18.
The Vision Pro represents Apple’s first major new product category since it began selling smartwatches in 2015. BLOOMBERG