Apple removes one of the very few reasons to buy a Vision Pro
The launch of Apple Vision Pro has been…not so great. Apple’s premium Mixed Reality headset saw poor sales shortly after launch and then failed to attract enterprise interest afterwards. And now Apple has removed Juno from the App Store, which was the only way to watch YouTube videos on Vision Pro and have them look like they fit in with visionOS.
YouTube doesn’t have an official app of its own for Apple’s headset, likely because the investment needed to develop it exceeds the profit potential from the barebones user base. Even the CEO of Netflix deemed the Vision Pro market “not really particularly relevant”.
This eliminates most forms of passive entertainment on the headset, one of the two things Apple marketed for the Vision Pro. The lack of enterprise use means the other aspect of its marketing hasn’t caught on yet either.
That just leaves Apple Arcade which provides you with some simple games on the Vision Pro. The headset does not support existing VR games and doesn’t even come with controllers, removing the possibility of jury rigging games to work on it. Though the ALVR app does try.
This eliminates most forms of passive entertainment on the headset, one of the two things Apple marketed for the Vision Pro. The lack of enterprise use means the other aspect of its marketing hasn’t caught on yet either.
No, you may not watch cat videos on a theater-sized virtual screen. | Video credit — Apple
Juno made it much simpler to watch YouTube videos on the Vision Pro. The developer is kind of known for providing better alternatives to official apps: they also made Apollo for Reddit. Apollo had to be shut down last year due to Reddit’s sudden desire to be the sole provider of an app that can access the platform. Reddit began demanding insane amounts of money from third party developers, leading to Apollo shuttering its doors.
Having Juno removed from the App Store must have been a painfully familiar process. YouTube claims Juno violated its guidelines but refuses to elaborate how. The developer, meanwhile, does not intend to fight to bring Juno back. It shall be another brilliant project under their belt, something they made for fun and got unfairly shut down.
The Vision Pro is, at least on the engineering side, one of the best AR headsets on the market today. But Juno’s removal highlights once more just how empty it remains due to the very small user base.
The Vision Pro is, at least on the engineering side, one of the best AR headsets on the market today. But Juno’s removal highlights once more just how empty it remains due to the very small user base.
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