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How to open a USDZ file on iPhone, Mac, Windows and Android
What a USDZ file is and how to open it: AR Quick Look on iPhone, Preview on Mac, Blender on Windows, and converting USDZ to GLB for everything else.
2 min read
Quick answer
How do I open a USDZ file?
On an iPhone or iPad, tap it in Files, Mail, Messages or Safari to open AR Quick Look. On a Mac, double-click it to open in Preview. On Windows or Android there is no built-in viewer, so import it into Blender, which reads USDZ through File, Import, Universal Scene Description, or convert it to GLB.
What a USDZ file is
USD, Universal Scene Description, is Pixar's open framework for describing 3D scenes, now used across film, games and Apple's platforms. A USDZ is a USD scene packed into a single file with its textures. The OpenUSD specification defines it precisely:
- it is an uncompressed zip archive, with no compression and no encryption;
- each file inside starts at a multiple of 64 bytes, so software can read it directly without unpacking;
- it may contain only files USD itself can use: USD layers, images and audio;
- it is read-only. To edit one, you unpack it first.
That design makes it fast to open on a phone, which is why Apple chose it for AR.
On iPhone and iPad
Tap the file wherever iOS shows it: Files, Mail, Messages or a link in Safari. AR Quick Look opens with two modes, Object to spin it on screen and AR to place it in your room. Websites open the same viewer through links marked rel="ar". See viewing 3D models on your phone.
On a Mac
Double-click it to open in Preview. Apple lists USDZ, USD, USDA and USDC among Preview's formats, and Preview can edit single-layer USD files directly. Selecting it in Finder and pressing Space gives a quick preview. See viewing 3D models on a Mac.
On Windows or Linux
There is no built-in USDZ viewer. Use Blender:
- File › Import › Universal Scene Description, and pick the
.usdz. - Set Import Textures to Packed so the textures inside the archive load. The Blender manual warns that with None, materials may come in without their textures.
From Blender you can export GLB for every other viewer and engine.
On Android
Android's AR viewer, Scene Viewer, reads glTF and GLB, not USDZ. Convert the file to GLB in Blender as above, or ask whoever sent it for a GLB version.
Peeking inside a USDZ
Because it is a zip archive, you can copy it, rename the copy to .zip and open it to see the USD file and textures inside. It is handy for pulling out a texture. Do not edit and re-zip it by hand, though. The 64-byte alignment rule means an ordinary zip tool produces a file iOS may reject. Re-export from Blender instead.
Making USDZ files
If you need to create a USDZ, for an iPhone AR link for example, the GLB to USDZ guide covers it. Vi3W exports GLB, FBX and OBJ, and the guide shows the conversion step for iPhone.
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