SAN FRANCISCO: Google has launched an official YouTube app for Apple Vision Pro, making “YouTube for visionOS” available as a free download in the visionOS App Store. The release brings a native YouTube viewing experience to Apple’s mixed reality headset, with the app described as a spatial watch experience designed for viewing YouTube content in an immersive environment.
Apple Vision Pro gains native YouTube access with Shorts and immersive 3D, 360 and VR180 formats. (AI-generated image)
The App Store listing says the app lets users explore content across YouTube, including standard rectangular videos and YouTube Shorts, alongside immersive formats. It also offers a signed-in experience, allowing access to subscriptions, playlists and watch history, aligning the headset experience with core features available on other YouTube platforms.
Google’s support documentation for the Vision Pro version describes immersive playback on a virtual large screen and support for compatible spatial formats, including 360-degree, VR180 and 3D. The app allows users to place and resize the YouTube screen within their physical space using Apple Vision Pro’s hand and eye tracking controls, and it supports live streams, according to Google.
The App Store description also says the app supports 8K video playback on Apple Vision Pro models equipped with Apple’s M5 chip. The listing indicates the app requires visionOS 26.0 or later, is sized at about 180 MB, and carries an age rating of 13+. Google notes that YouTube Premium is not required to use the app, but in-app subscription purchases are not supported.
Delayed arrival on Apple’s headset
Apple began selling the first Vision Pro model in the United States on February 2, 2024, with a starting price of $3,499. At launch, YouTube did not offer a dedicated Vision Pro app, and users commonly accessed the service through a web browser. In early February 2024, YouTube said a Vision Pro app was on its product roadmap, without providing a release date.
In the period without an official YouTube app, third-party developers offered alternative ways to watch YouTube on Vision Pro. One unofficial client, Juno, gained attention among early Vision Pro users but was removed from the App Store in October 2024. Its developer said the removal followed complaints tied to YouTube terms and trademark issues, leaving Vision Pro owners without that native-style option.
Vision Pro hardware and software backdrop
Apple announced an upgraded Vision Pro in October 2025 featuring the M5 chip and a Dual Knit Band, and said the device would ship with visionOS 26. Apple said the update improved performance, display rendering, battery life and comfort, and highlighted visionOS 26 support for immersive video formats, including 180-degree, 360-degree and wide field-of-view video from select action cameras.
With YouTube now offering a dedicated Vision Pro app, Google’s video platform joins the roster of major services distributing native visionOS software for Apple’s headset. The new YouTube for visionOS app is positioned as a single destination for standard YouTube viewing and spatial formats on Vision Pro, with availability through the visionOS App Store for devices running visionOS 26 or later. – By Content Syndication Services.