It’s important to have friends who come to your birthday parties, offer support during tough times, and allocate resources to develop apps for emerging virtual reality platforms despite limited direct benefits. It may be tempting to believe that a $30 billion cash reserve and a product line generating over $200 billion annually are sufficient. However, Apple is finding that money cannot buy everything.
Pre-orders for Apple’s Vision Pro headset, a $3,500 “spatial computing” platform and CEO Tim Cook’s vision of Apple’s future, opened last week. Despite Apple’s enthusiasm, quiet opposition from potential users has overshadowed the announcement.
According to a report from Bloomberg (£), Netflix has opted not to design a Vision Pro app or support existing iPad apps on the platform, instead instructing users to access their content through a web browser.
Rather than developing a Vision Pro app or supporting existing iPad apps, Netflix has chosen to direct users to watch their content on the web. This decision is notable given the competition between Netflix and Apple in the streaming market.
Although the initial weekend release of Vision Pro saw an estimated 160,000-180,000 units sold, this pales in comparison to Netflix’s 250 million paying subscribers. Therefore, Netflix’s reluctance to invest resources in an app for the Vision Pro is understandable, as app development is only worthwhile if it can attract new customers or retain existing ones.
Despite Apple’s promotion of the Vision Pro as the most immersive way to watch TV, Netflix has similarly abandoned its app for MetaQuest, demonstrating a pattern of resistance to immersive platforms.
Due to these decisions, Vision Pro users will be limited to watching Netflix through the web, losing the ability to access offline viewing, a key selling point of the headset.
Furthermore, YouTube and Spotify have also opted not to release new apps for the Vision Pro, indicating a lack of enthusiasm from major content providers for the platform.
In a related story, Apple has recently allowed developers to bypass its payment system, providing them with an alternative to the high fees associated with in-app purchases. This shift may reflect a broader resistance among developers to Apple’s monopoly over economic activity in their app ecosystem.
The reluctance of major content providers to invest in apps for the Vision Pro may indicate a broader skepticism among developers about the benefits of supporting Apple’s latest venture. This trend may signal a greater movement within the developer community to challenge Apple’s control over app development and monetization.
Source: www.theguardian.com
