The Supercut app brings good Netflix to the Vision Pro

Netflix said last year that it had no plans for a native app for the Apple Vision Pro — a disappointment for owners given how well-suited it is for the task. Now, a new app called Supercut brings Netflix streaming to Apple’s headset without letterboxing bars on the top and bottom of the video; it also supports 4K streaming with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision.

Made by developer Christian Privitelli, Supercut offers playback controls — including subtitles, audio output, playback speed, and the ability to skip ahead or back a few seconds — plus the ability to switch between profiles on the fly. It even gives you a visual indicator telling you whether your video is outputting in one or both of the Dolby formats and what resolution you’re streaming at.

Privitelli told The Verge in an interview that he’s presenting Netflix in a web view, similar to that used by Christian Selig’s YouTube player, Juno. “It basically just overlays native UI on top of the website,” he said, “and then modifies the website in a way to make it feel more at home on visionOS.”

It’s not entirely clear whether Netflix will have an issue with what Privitelli is doing. He told me he tried to get in touch with “a few people” at the company “and just never heard anything back.”

In addition to Netflix, there’s a basic implementation of Amazon Prime Video, which does exist on the headset as an iPad app but is letterboxed, like Netflix in a Safari window. Supercut also has a space for entering a URL for another service, such as YouTube. Offering other services wasn’t part of the plan, Privitelli said, but Apple wouldn’t approve it as a Netflix-only app, prompting him to create it as a streaming hub instead.

Looking to the future, Privitelli is working on an immersive cinema environment similar to the one in the Apple TV Plus app. Privitelli posted on X that he expects to roll that out in version 1.2 of Supercut. (It’s in 1.1.2, currently.) Also, he said users have requested Hulu or Peacock support but that both would be a challenge. Hulu is now integrated into Disney Plus in the US, for one thing, and he doesn’t have access to Peacock in Australia, where he’s based. He says his next goal is to integrate Plex, which has a public API, but he hasn’t begun work on that quite yet. Other visionOS apps, such as Cinephile, offer Plex support, too.

Supercut is a $4.99 one-time payment at the moment. I’ve only spent a brief period running through the features and watching a few minutes of video, but so far, it seems like a promising stand-in for Netflix on the Vision Pro. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be over here ironically watching 3 Body Problem with my face computer.

Update April 9th, 2024, 10:39AM ET: Added details from an interview with Supercut developer Christian Privitelli.