Google’s YouTube has launched an official visionOS app.
While it was already possible to access YouTube on Apple Vision Pro headsets through the Safari web browser, the new official app offers a streamlined native-feeling interface, support for watching 180° and 360° immersive video (including 3D), and, for YouTube Premium subscribers, the ability to download videos for offline viewing.
The player also adapts to the varying aspect ratios of videos on YouTube, avoiding the black-bars problem and revealing more of your real or virtual environment.
On the M5 Apple Vision Pro, the app supports up to 8K, while the original M2 Vision Pro is limited to 4K.
YouTube first announced that it planned to build a visionOS app just days after the original headset’s launch.
In the two years since, multiple third-party apps have emerged to fill the gap, including firstly and most prominently the $5 app Juno, built by the same developer as the Apollo phone app for Reddit. But in late 2024 YouTube forced Juno off the visionOS App Store.
Other third-party offerings include Tubular Pro, which has advanced features including SponsorBlock integration and its own theater environments.
The official YouTube app for Apple Vision Pro is available for free on the visionOS App Store, with offline downloads enabled by a YouTube Premium subscription.
While its arrival on visionOS could be considered surprising by some because of Google’s competing Android XR, YouTube operates somewhat independently from Google, and Google has offered iOS versions of its most popular services for almost two decades now.
YouTube is also available on Meta’s Horizon OS, including with co-watching support, but the app on Quest is visually less polished compared to visionOS and Android XR.
David Heaney
