[Feature] Use 360 plugin of the web version in the app

[1661410107114145152525]

I have searched the existing feature requests, both open and closed, to make sure this is not a duplicate request.

• Yes

The feature

Introduction (important)

I understand there will be initial resistance to embedding a browser/WebView inside the mobile app instead of something native — and rightly so: the mobile team has already reimplemented many web features natively where that made sense.

However, pragmatic research shows there is no well-maintained, open-source native mobile 360° renderer/library that matches the web plugin’s feature set and maintenance level and that would be safe and cost-effective to adopt today.

This has been the case for years. Waiting for a “perfect” native solution that may never arrive leaves 360° users with the worst outcome: no usable experience at all.

A pragmatic, low-impact approach should therefore be justified: There is already a well working 360° plugin used in the web version. If the in-app WebView experience is imperfect, that only affects the subset of users who otherwise would have no support for 360° media. And it can always be replaced later with a native implementation if/when a suitable, maintained solution appears.

Idea

• Detect 360° metadata on the asset.
• On center-tap (or another clear affordance), open an in-app WebView that loads the existing web 360° plugin for that asset.
• Keep the user inside the app shell (so navigation, back behavior and auth remain consistent).
• Fallback: where WebView is not acceptable, open the system browser as a fallback.
• Make this change reversible: document the WebView entry point clearly so it can be swapped out later when a native, maintained alternative exists.

Further benefits

This approach:

• Avoids duplicating complex rendering and interaction logic that the web plugin already provides and maintains.
• Gives users immediate, meaningful functionality instead of forcing them to re-find assets in a browser or accept no support.
• Minimizes surface area (only 360° assets trigger the flow) and can be implemented behind a feature flag for evaluation.

Platform

• Server
• Web
• Mobile

[george1612]

Could an app dev or Alex give an opinion on this? Is something that will be rejected, even if contributed or do you also think this might be better than waiting forever for a perfect third party, native solution with long maintenance and so on?