Devices are made and broken on the experience they provide the end user, and for smartphones and app-based interfaces, that depends a lot on the developers making the software. The Apple Vision Pro recently became available for preorder and sold out almost immediately, but some have questions about the device’s long-term developer support.
Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube aren’t currently interested in developing for the Vision Pro, and others, such as Meta, have stayed quiet. It’s worth noting that Meta has a competing product, and Netflix views Apple as a competitor in the streaming wars, so those two are unsurprising, at least.
Bloomberg pointed out that Apple’s release timing for the device isn’t the best, saying that the tech giant’s feud with developers over software commissions and payment processing services hasn’t helped its cause. Spotify had unkind words for Apple, saying it “has demonstrated that they will stop at nothing to protect the profits they exact on the backs of developers and consumers under their app store monopoly.”
Interestingly, the Vision Pro gets iPad apps by default, and developers are required to opt out, which as Bloomberg reported is what Netflix and the others plan to do. It’s also worth noting that Apple hasn’t been the most supportive parent for the device, directly porting several of its native iPad apps without updating their interfaces.
App development is not a cheap business, so it’s understandable that some would want to wait and see how the Vision Pro performs before making the investment. Competitors may want to hurt the device by limiting support at the time that it needs it the most. It’s also true that the app stores offered for Apple TV and the Watch have underperformed.