YouTube Arrives on Vision Pro, but Apple's Headset Faces Challenges

Google launches native YouTube app for Vision Pro after two years, but the timing coincides with declining sales and production issues for Apple's headset.

Published on Feb. 13, 2026

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After a two-year drought, YouTube's official app is finally available on Apple's Vision Pro headset, featuring 8K playback and spatial video support. However, the app's launch comes amid declining sales and production challenges for the Vision Pro, raising questions about the platform's maturity and the broader state of spatial computing.

Why it matters

The arrival of the YouTube app is a significant milestone for the Vision Pro, as it addresses a major gap in the headset's content ecosystem. However, the timing of the launch, which coincides with the Vision Pro's struggles, highlights the broader challenges facing spatial computing platforms as they strive to build a compelling and sustainable user experience.

The details

The YouTube app for Vision Pro delivers features like gesture controls for resizing windows, seamless scrubbing, and dedicated support for 3D and 360-degree content. M5 model owners can even enjoy 8K playback. The app also allows users to sync their subscriptions, playlists, and watch history across devices. This integration provides the immersive, theater-sized viewing experience that the Vision Pro's Safari browser was unable to deliver.

  • YouTube's official Vision Pro app launched on February 12, 2026.
  • In Q4 2025, Vision Pro shipments cratered to around 45,000 units, prompting Apple to halt production due to weak demand.

The players

YouTube

A video-sharing platform owned by Google that is now available as a native app on Apple's Vision Pro headset.

Apple

The tech giant that developed the Vision Pro, a mixed-reality headset that has faced declining sales and production challenges.

Google

The parent company of YouTube, which has pushed its Android XR platform, including the Samsung Galaxy XR with YouTube integration, as a competitor to the Vision Pro.

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What they’re saying

“YouTube's absence has plagued Vision Pro owners since launch—forcing you to fumble through Safari or hunt for third-party workarounds that Google kept shutting down. That drought finally ends today, February 12, 2026, with YouTube's official visionOS app arriving over two years after the headset debuted.”

— Annemarije de Boer, Los Angeles-based director and visual storyteller specializing in technology reviews and digital innovation journalism (gadgetreview.com)

The takeaway

The arrival of the YouTube app on the Vision Pro is a significant step forward for the platform, but the timing of the launch, amid declining sales and production challenges, highlights the broader struggles that spatial computing platforms face in building a comprehensive and sustainable content ecosystem. As the competition between platforms like the Vision Pro and Android XR devices heats up, the ability to attract and retain major content partners will be crucial to determining the long-term success of these emerging technologies.