Netflix will reportedly “take a pass” on developing a native app for Apple Vision Pro, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
In this week’s edition of his Power On newsletter, Gurman discusses the options available for developers to support Apple Vision Pro and create custom, native apps for the platform.
As announced by Apple during the Vision Pro reveal recently, the headset will support iPhone and iPad apps that can run unaltered on visionOS as well as those optimized or built from the ground up for visionOS. Gurman reports that Netflix will “take a pass” at developing the latter type of native app for visionOS. Gurman has been told “that the company has no current plans to develop a native app for Vision Pro” but “will still let its iPad app run on the headset unmodified.”
Netflix did previously release a custom built-for-VR app for Quest, which places users on a sofa in a cabin environment with a large TV-like screen displaying Netflix content (pictured above). However, the app offers little customization and hasn’t been updated or changed in quite some time.
Given the approach on Quest, it’s not overly surprising that Netflix isn’t planning on making an immediate splash on Vision Pro. When it comes to other streaming services, Disney+ is already confirmed to launch with a custom, native app for visionOS on day one, while Gurman speculates in this week’s newsletter that a similar Prime Video app from Amazon might make an appearance on Apple’s headset as well.
