META has officially discontinued the Netflix app for the Quest 3 mixed-reality headset.
Users will be met with a playback error when trying to stream content.
Meta began notifying users that the app would stop working on July 15, urging them to stream content in the Meta Quest Browser instead.
The Netflix app was one of the only streaming services available for download on Quest.
It saw few updates since it was first added to the Quest in 2019 – four years after it came out for Samsung Gear VR.
In conclusion, the app remained largely the same despite technological advancements over the past decade.
It lacked passthrough support, meaning users couldn’t watch content while staying connected to their physical environment.
The biggest drawback was that streams were capped at 480p resolution, or standard definition.
Luckily, the streaming experience in the Meta Quest Browser is leaps and bounds ahead of the application.
Users can stream content in 1080p (full HD), with the choice to watch in mixed reality or a virtual home environment.
Another plus is the ability to move the browser window around, affording flexibility.
Quest 3 users can also change settings within the virtual environment by dimming or brightening it.
There are downsides, of course. Netflix content is still not available for download, unlike the iOS app, which lets users watch offline.
But in all, the browser app offers significant improvements in quality and ways to customize the viewing experience.
Nevertheless, some fans expressed disappointment over the app phase-out.
Some Quest 3 users claimed they’d grown fond of the virtual environments the screen was housed in, regardless of the poor streaming quality.
“Apparently I’m the only one that liked my little ski chalet,” one Reddit user quipped.
“Lovely ski chalet with a large screen showing a 480p video…perfect,” another retorted.
Another user professed they “loved” the app and were sad to see it go.
“Watching movies and looking outside my window at the top of a mountain was breathtaking,” the Redditor wrote.
“It’s sad they never bothered to make an updated version worthy of the Quest 3,” another netizen lamented.
“Netflix used to be everywhere back in the days. If a toaster was released with a screen they would make an app for it. And now they don’t bother anymore even on popular devices like the Quest 3.”
Here's what you need to know...
The Quest 3, released in October 2023, is a mixed-reality headset – a pair of goggles with a screen that projects 3D digital images across a user’s field of view.
Unlike virtual reality, which immerses users in a digital world, Quest 3 users can still see their physical environment, with the option to project holograms into the space.
