In his latest “Power On” newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says there may be several reasons why some companies (Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify among them) may not be supporting the Vision Pro. Among the reasons:
- Building software can be expensive, and developers want a return on their investment. So some software makers are probably waiting to see how big the Vision Pro market gets before committing to a new application. This, however, doesn’t explain the developers who actively choose to not support their iPad app on the device.
- There are some developers that are angry at Apple for their App Store review policies, fees and other practices — something that’s caught the eye of regulators. These developers know the Vision Pro hinges on cool new apps and may not want to help Apple market its device.
- Some developers feel that their applications don’t translate well to the Vision Pro’s mixed-reality environment, which relies on eye movement and hand gestures. Certain games are best played with VR hand controllers, something the Vision Pro doesn’t yet offer. Also, developers don’t have full access to the eye-tracking and motion-sensing features, making it harder to take advantage of the headset.
- Developers saw the poor performance of Apple’s last three new App Stores — ones for TV, watches and iMessage — and don’t want to participate until they know if the Vision Pro version will be successful.
“The Vision Pro is an expensive, relatively low-volume product, and it’s going to be that way for a while. I’ve been told that Apple’s initial inventory for launch weekend is about 80,000 units, which the company sold out in the first hour of preorders,” he writes. “If Apple sells the estimated 300,000 to 400,000 units that it’s expected to ship this year, that’s not much of a user base for developers — especially after the cut that the company takes from paid apps and services.”
This info from Gurman is from the free edition of “Power On”. If you like it, consider subscribing to Bloomberg.com—you’ll receive the newsletter earlier and get exclusive access to a Q&A section.
The Vision has more apps than those that haven’t confirmed their presence. In addition to various streaming services (Disney, Max, Paramount, Crunchyroll, etc.), it even includes Telegram and Uber. What would be the probability of someone requesting an Uber through Vision? However, this option is available. Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify have always been slow in developing their apps for Apple devices. Google released the YouTube app on the iPhone only on iOS 6 (2012). Netflix launched the app on the iPhone only on iOS 7 (2013) and on the second-generation Apple TV (2014), along with the YouTube app. Spotify also follows the same pattern, delaying its own Hi-Fi plan. I’m sorry, but these three companies are examples of pessimism and do not represent all developers. The reason for their absence is more related to incompetence in developing their apps.