Apple Vision Pro Catches up to Samsung Galaxy XR in One Key Area

Two years after its launch, Apple’s Vision Pro finally gets a native YouTube app. Google recently released a dedicated version of YouTube for visionOS, bringing full-featured video streaming to the XR headset without the need to rely on a web browser. Samsung’s Galaxy XR, meanwhile, has offered an optimized YouTube experience from day one.

Google rolls out dedicated YouTube app for Apple’s Vision Pro

The Vision Pro and Galaxy XR compete in the same space, but they have several major differences. The latter costs almost half of Apple’s solution, yet offers a practical ecosystem advantage thanks to Google. The Android maker built a custom OS for the platform, called Android XR, and ported all key Android apps to the platform. It also helped third-party developers create XR versions of their apps.

A native YouTube app optimized for XR experiences has been one of the biggest advantages of Samsung’s headset. YouTube remains the largest library of immersive and high-resolution VR content on the internet. Having a dedicated native app significantly improves usability, performance, and overall viewing comfort compared to browser-based playback.

That edge for the Galaxy XR has now disappeared as YouTube comes to the Vision Pro. The new YouTube app for visionOS is optimized for immersive content formats, including 180-degree VR videos, 360-degree VR experiences, 3D videos, and 8K video playback. The app also allows users to access subscriptions, watch history, playlists, and YouTube Shorts.

YouTube may no longer be exclusive to Galaxy XR, but Apple and Samsung will continue to challenge each other in the XR headset space. It remains to be seen whether Google will introduce additional XR-exclusive features for Android XR–powered devices that could once again differentiate Galaxy XR from its Apple rival. For now, at least in the YouTube department, Apple has caught up.