It took two years, but Google released a YouTube app on Vision Pro

When Apple’s Vision Pro mixed reality headset launched in February 2024, users were frustrated by the lack of a proper YouTube app – a significant disappointment given the device’s focus on video content consumption and YouTube’s robust library of immersive VR and 360 videos. This complaint continued until the release of the second-generation Vision Pro last year, including in our review.

Now, two years later, an official Google YouTube app has launched on the Vision Pro app store. It’s not just a port of the iPad app: it features panels arranged spatially in front of the user as you’d expect, and it supports 3D videos, as well as 360- and 180-degree ones.

YouTube’s App Store listing says users can watch “all videos on YouTube” (there’s a screenshot of a special interface for vertical Shorts videos, for example) and that they get the “full login experience” with watch history and more.

Shortly after Vision Pro launched, many users complained to YouTube about the lack of an app. They were referred to the web interface (which worked fine for most 2D videos, but obviously wasn’t an ideal experience) and told that a Vision Pro app was on the roadmap.

Two years of silence followed. Third-party apps appeared, such as the relatively popular Juno app, but they were removed from the App Store, with Google claiming they violated API policies. (Some others remained or became available later.)

Google is developing its own XR ambitions, so it’s possible that the Vision Pro app benefited from some of this work, but it’s unclear how this all came about. But it’s here now. Next: Netflix, right? Unfortunately, this is unlikely; Unlike Google, Netflix has not announced any intentions here.