Netflix won't bring native streaming app to Apple Vision Pro - report
Does Apple Vision Pro lack developer support? Streaming giant Netflix is not planning a native app, according to a report.
Flat content plays an important role on Apple's Vision Pro mixed reality headset. Maybe you've got some of virtual monitors on your real desk, or a virtual movie screen in front of your sofa. Not all content providers seem convinced by this vision. Entertainment giant Netflix, for example, is not planning a native app for streaming movies and shows, according to a Bloomberg report.
Instead, it may be necessary to run the streaming service's traditional iPad app, explains Bloomberg's XR specialist Mark Gurman. Such non-customised apps from Apple's tablet should be easy to use in a flat window or via a browser. That is, unless Netflix deliberately blocks these options.
Subsidies for the Apple Vision Pro?
On the other hand, native offerings for Apple Vision Pro have already been announced for services like Apple TV+ as well as Disney+. A strong partnership with Amazon also argues for a Prime streaming app.
Overall, however, the report is sceptical about support for apps built specifically for the headset. Unsurprisingly, Gurman cites the high price and resulting small user base. An estimated 500,000 headsets sold per year would be a tiny fraction of the 250 million devices sold in the iPhone, iPad and Mac segments.
"If you’re making something for it, either Apple has to pay you to develop it," a "well-known developer" told Bloomberg, "or you develop the app just to get some buzz." In addition, the lack of classic controllers makes it difficult to easily port VR apps, he adds.
On the other hand, there is an affluent target audience for productive apps in areas such as graphic design, he said. Games could also be located in the price range of classic console titles, between $40 and $60, as opposed to the much lower iOS price points. Companies know that the Vision Pro could be a solid profit opportunity in the long run because customers have already made a large investment, Gurman writes.
A "massive marketing push" from Apple could also make development for the XR headset profitable, another developer told Gurman.
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