YouTuber Explains How to Watch Spatial Videos From iPhone 15 Pro on VR Headsets

With the iOS 17.2 beta, Apple added a feature that allows the iPhone 15 Pro and ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro Max to record Spatial Video that's designed for the upcoming Apple Vision Pro headset. As the Vision Pro is not yet available, there's no way to watch Spatial Video in its 3D form on an Apple device.

Vision Pro Spatial Video
Spatial Video content can, however, be watched on the Meta Quest 3 and other 3D devices thanks to a workaround shared by YouTuber Hugh Hou. Earlier this week, Hou described how to manipulate Spatial Video to get it to run on Meta's VR headset.


An ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro running the iOS 17.2 beta is required, of course, in order to record Spatial Video in the first place. The beta is available to both developers and public beta testers, and downloading it is as simple as going to the Software Update section in the iPhone Settings app and toggling on beta updates.

Spatial Video recording needs to be enabled in the Camera settings after the iOS 17.2 update, and from there, Hou instructs users to get the "Spatialify" app on TestFlight.

The app has instructions on decoding and exporting Spatial Video in a format that the Meta Quest 3 or other 3D headsets and TVs can view, and there is an extra step involving encoding 3D metadata.

It is not the most straightforward process, but it may be of interest to ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro users who have a VR headset or 3D TV and want to try viewing Spatial Video ahead of when the Vision Pro headset comes out.

Spatial Video is designed to allow Vision Pro headset wearers to view video in a more immersive 3D format. Along with the ‌iPhone 15‌ Pro, the headset will also be able to be used to record Spatial Video content.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

18 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Wednesday November 13, 2024 2:09 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 next month, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well....
M4 MacBook Pros Thumb

M4 MacBook Pro Uses Quantum Dot Display Technology

Thursday November 14, 2024 4:19 pm PST by
The M4 MacBook Pro models feature quantum dot display technology, according to display analyst Ross Young. Apple used a quantum dot film instead of a red KSF phosphor film, a change that provides more vibrant, accurate color results. Young says that Apple has opted for KSF for prior MacBook Pro models because it doesn't use toxic element cadmium (typical for quantum dot) and is more...
AirPods Crackling Feature

Apple Customers Sue Over Unfixed AirPods Pro Crackling Issue

Wednesday November 13, 2024 11:01 am PST by
A trio of Apple customers this month filed a class action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the Cupertino company of violating California consumer protection laws and false advertising for continuing to sell AirPods Pro models that had ongoing issues with crackling or static sounds. A few months after the AirPods Pro came out in October 2019, buyers began to complain about crackling, rattling, ...
google gemini

Google Releases Standalone Gemini AI App for iPhone

Thursday November 14, 2024 2:54 am PST by
Google has launched its dedicated Gemini artificial intelligence app for iPhone users, expanding beyond the previous limited integration within the main Google app. The standalone app offers enhanced functionality, including support for Gemini Live and iOS-specific features like Dynamic Island integration. The new app allows iPhone users to interact with Google's AI through text or voice...
maxresdefault

M4 Max MacBook Pro: Real-World Usage Tests

Wednesday November 13, 2024 11:59 am PST by
Apple last week replaced the M3 Max MacBook Pro with the new M4 Max MacBook Pro, and we picked up one of the new high-end MacBook Pro machines to see how it compares to the prior model with both benchmarks and real-world tests. We tested an M4 Max with a 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, and 48GB RAM against an M3 Max MacBook Pro with similar specs. The two machines look similar, but the display on...
iphone passcode green

iOS 18 Security Feature Causes iPhone to Reboot After Three Days of Inactivity

Thursday November 14, 2024 2:19 pm PST by
With iOS 18, Apple introduced a feature that causes the iPhone to reboot every three days, security researchers have confirmed (via TechCrunch). In a demo video, security researcher Jiska Classen proved that an iPhone left untouched for 72 hours will automatically restart, and Graykey manufacturer also Magnet Forensics wrote a blog post about the feature. After a reboot, an iPhone is more...

Top Rated Comments

klasma Avatar
13 months ago
Haha, Apple might unintentionally boost Quest sales that way. :D Interoperability FTW.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vinegarshots Avatar
13 months ago

This doesn’t seem to busing the depth data, which I believe Apples headset will be using for those spatial videos. #earlydays
Incorrect. The spatial videos are just standard 3D videos, using 2 different cameras side by side. It doesn't record any other "depth data".

Apple, in typical Apple fashion, led people to believe that these "Spatial Videos" are much more than what they really are (by showing a promo video that inferred that you could walk around the video and see different viewpoints). But...that's not what you're getting.

They're just normal 3D videos. Nothing groundbreaking here.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vinegarshots Avatar
13 months ago

I suspect Apple has a few more computational tricks that are performed. The majority of Vision Pro reviewers thought that the spatial effects went way beyond what had previously been achieved.
Nah, those Vision Pro reviewers clearly had no experience with VR media consumption. This pretty much sums it up:

https://www.uploadvr.com/iphone-15-pro-spatial-video-released-vision-pro/

"Until now Apple didn't actually say what Spatial Videos are, other than to say they "have incredible depth that lets you see into a moment". Apple's marketing clips seemed to suggest ('https://www.uploadvr.com/iphone-15-pro-spatial-video-vision-pro/') Spatial Video was something much more than just stereoscopic video, with volumetric parallax depicted, but it's clear now this marketing was misleading. Apple confirmed to CNET's Scott Stein ('https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/apple-iphone-spatial-video-arrives-in-beta-and-looks-amazing-on-vision-pro/?ref=uploadvr.com') and TechRadar's Lance Ulanoff ('https://www.techradar.com/computing/virtual-reality-augmented-reality/i-tried-the-iphone-15s-new-spatial-video-feature-and-it-will-be-the-vision-pros-killer-app?ref=uploadvr.com') that Spatial Video is in fact just 3D stereoscopic video, two 1080p 30FPS captures embedded into the same file with the Apple HEVC Stereo Video Profile format, an implementation of MV-HEVC."
__

Before this converter tool was released, I did an experiment of my own by taking 2 normal photos with the ultrawide and main cameras, cropping the ultrawide to match the main camera, and then viewing them as a side by side 3D image. The depth exactly matches what you see in these Spatial Videos, so there is no extra trickery that Apple is doing here.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Verified Whiskey Avatar
13 months ago

Incorrect. The spatial videos are just standard 3D videos, using 2 different cameras side by side. It doesn't record any other "depth data".

Apple, in typical Apple fashion, led people to believe that these "Spatial Videos" are much more than what they really are (by showing a promo video that inferred that you could walk around the video and see different viewpoints). But...that's not what you're getting.

They're just normal 3D videos. Nothing groundbreaking here.
Have you USED the Vision Pro yet? I didn’t think so. You’re operating on the assumption that it’s like today’s VR headsets.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DogHouseDub Avatar
13 months ago
How "3-dimensional" is a video recorded with two cameras spaced by a few mm?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jayducharme Avatar
13 months ago

How "3-dimensional" is a video recorded with two cameras spaced by a few mm?
I suspect Apple has a few more computational tricks that are performed. The majority of Vision Pro reviewers thought that the spatial effects went way beyond what had previously been achieved.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)