Skip to main content

Plex tells users that VR apps are going away

A person wearing a virtual reality headset.
Samsung

Thanks to Apple’s recently released Vision Pro headset, the VR wars are hotter than ever. And yet, not everyone wants to be a part of the action. Plex — a very popular media streaming platform that folks use to organize and play their personal movie, TV, and music collections — has just announced that it’s discontinuing support for its existing VR client apps.

The affected devices include Google’s Daydream (which itself lost support when Google abandoned it in 2019), Oculus Go, and Samsung’s Gear VR. Plex announced the change via an email to members, with the headline “VR apps are going away.”

Recommended Videos

“As part of our efforts to make sure we’re focusing our resources in ways that best serve our Plex community, we’ve decided to officially end support for our Google Daydream, Gear VR, and Oculus Go apps. You’re receiving this email because our data indicates that you’ve recently used one of these apps.”

Plex apologized for the change, noting that “overall low usage played a major role in our decision process. Additionally, these platforms are either currently not, or soon will not be, supported by their manufacturers.”

As is common when companies remove support for a given app or device, these Plex clients will continue working — for now. The risk is that, without the company’s support, changes to the main Plex media server software could cause problems with how these client apps work — or potentially prevent them from working at all.

Plex isn’t just done with legacy VR devices like the Oculus Go and Gear VR — it appears to be reticent about VR platforms as a whole. The company never released a client app for the Meta Quest family of headsets, and it has said it doesn’t have any current plans to support the Apple Vision Pro.

We’re a little surprised by this decision, seeing as the Vision Pro has received nearly unanimous praise as a home theater replacement.

Still, Plex fans aren’t entirely without VR options.

Some users on Reddit report that they’ve had limited success getting the Plex iPadOS app to work on the Vision Pro, while Meta Quest headset users can still buy the $10 third-party Movie Deck app, which acts as client for Plex on that platform.

Simon Cohen
Simon Cohen is a contributing editor to Digital Trends' Audio/Video section, where he obsesses over the latest wireless…
The best Bluetooth speakers for under $100
Soundcore Motion 300 hanging from a towel rod.

You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars on a Bluetooth speaker to get top-shelf sound quality. In fact, there are plenty of Bluetooth speakers that cost less than $100, and from respected brands like Soundcore, Tribit, and JBL. While these speakers are of the compact, portable variety and don't feature tech such as Wi-Fi network connectivity, they're all excellent for their size and price and have varying levels of water and dust resistance.

We think you’ll be surprised at how much power and performance you’ll get from a Bluetooth speaker that costs less than $100. There are options on our list for most wants, needs, and budgets, and be sure to check back often to see what new models we’ve added.

Read more
Early Black Friday Google Pixel deals: Pixel 9, Pixel Watch 2, and more
The Google Pixel 8's screen.

We’ve still got some time until Black Friday deals officially arrive, but now is a good time to start your shopping, as there are a lot of early Black Friday deals worth grabbing. Among them are devices from Google’s Pixel lineup, which is great news of you’ve got your eye on Black Friday phone deals, Black Friday smartwatch deals, Black Friday tablet deals, or Black Friday headphone deals. We’ve tracked down all of the best early Black Friday Google Pixel deals available in the lead-up to the sales event, so read onward for all of the details on how to land some savings right now.
Google Pixel Buds Pro — $136 $200 32% off

If you’re looking for some of the best headphone deals during these early Black Friday offerings, you definitely want to pounce on this deal. The Google Pixel Buds Pro are seeing a $64 price drop and a Black Friday price of $136. The newer Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 are also on the market, but they aren’t seeing any Black Friday deals, and this first generation model of the popular earbuds will provide plenty of audio quality for most people.

Read more
Amazon to phase out Freevee, but there’s still a way to watch for free
Freevee on a TV.

Amazon is closing down Freevee, the ad-supported video streaming service that launched in 2019 as IMDb Freedive before rebranding as IMDb TV and, finally, as Amazon Freevee in 2022.

Freevee has been available as an app for mobile and TV, and its free movies and TV shows can also be accessed via Amazon's Prime Video platform. But some things are about to change.

Read more