Google relents: YouTube gets Vision Pro app
Since Thursday, visionOS users can unexpectedly use an official YouTube client. It's unclear if this is due to Google's Gemini cooperation with Apple.
YouTube playback in the official client on the Vision Pro: Made by Google.
Surprise on Thursday: Google has published its very first official app for the Vision Pro – and it's YouTube, of all things. The app had been hoped for and expected practically since the Apple Glasses were launched, but the search giant took its time. An independent and actually very nice third-party client called Juno had been distributed by Google; the company had Apple remove the app, as its developer announced in the fall of 2024. After the announcement of the Vision Pro in the summer of 2023, Google had sent mixed signals. Initially, the company leaned towards “against it,” then it was said that they were working on it after all. But that obviously took time. It has not yet leaked whether Google was also persuaded by the new Gemini AI partnership with Apple.
What the client can do
First of all, YouTube for visionOS is a native app. So you don't just get the iPadOS version, which Google had previously blocked for the Vision Pro. Right from the start, the application also advertises spatial videos for the service, for which there is a separate tab. Although these often turn out to be quite pixelated – because they are more for Quest & Co. – since 8K recordings are practically nonexistent on YouTube. This might change with the Vision Pro application now.
Videos by heise
The interface is simply designed and largely adheres to visionOS standards. You navigate through the aforementioned tabs, which also include access to your profile; when playing, the video appears in full screen, which you can also expand accordingly. For spatial videos, YouTube switches to spatial mode, meaning it is completely immersive. The image section can be adjusted with a pinch gesture. The player for 2D videos, on the other hand, seems to support no gestures; for pause, scrubbing, and rewinding or fast-forwarding by 15 seconds, you use the usual eye control, which Google could have done better. It is annoying that the size of the subtitles cannot be adjusted. Furthermore, audio tracks and subtitle language, as well as resolution, can be adjusted via context menus. Via a context menu, you can also send videos to playlists; annoying missing menus for displayed video suggestions during pausing, as on tvOS – the app there is designed completely differently – do not exist.
Meditative YouTube viewing
Overall, the client appears very understated. This allows you to concentrate fully on watching 2D videos, which is quite pleasant. Only when you click on the title line of a running video do further information such as the description, an overview of the comments, and video suggestions appear. The latter also do not fill the screen when you pause a video or when it has finished playing. However, there is an autoplay function for automatically playing the next clip.
In spatial mode, YouTube distributes comments and the description, as well as further video suggestions, in separate floating windows, just like the playback control. Google has not created separate environments, i.e., 3D environments; instead, you see those that you have selected for the Vision Pro interface. All in all, Vision Pro owners can rejoice: In the first short test, the YouTube app appeared stable. What is still missing to make buyers of the 3700-euro headset (starting price) happy would be an official Netflix app. This is still not offered; instead, you have to watch via browser or via web app tools.
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