No Vision Pro with Windows or Steam VR? This dev has almost solved that problem for us

The Vision Pro’s announcement stirred the AR/VR pot last year and now, the release of Apple’s “spatial computer” has added select spices and herbs to the mix. I mean sure: it doesn’t overshadow the Quest 3 being one of the best VR headsets out there.

But it doesn’t have to. The Vision Pro is not something that we’ve seen before: a headset — sorry Apple, but if it goes on my face and weighs more than a pair of specs, it's a headset — that can enable you for next-gen multitasking and productivity in mixed-reality.

The caveat? Well, beyond the $3,500 asking price — which isn’t that insane when you stop to think about how Meta handles user data, but oh well — we’ve got the elephant in the room: the Vision Pro is bound to Apple’s ecosystem, so Windows users and PC VR enthusiasts won’t be able to take advantage of it.

Or will they?



Enter stage right: Zhuowei Zhang, who managed to port ALVR — think of this as an open-source, Android-based alternative to PC VR streaming apps like AirLink or Virtual Desktop — to VisionOS. And then J. Walter Weatherman posted a short clip of it actually working for SteamVR.

If you check out the clip for yourself — which you should — you’ll notice that there is some lag and stuttering, and artifacting going on, but hey: that may be just due to a poor WiFi connection. Plus, if the port becomes popular, fixes and improvements are bound to come, right?

So, the big question: can you try it? Yes, absolutely and there’s even a section dedicated to setting it up right here. So then why does it feel all too easy? Simple: because you won’t be able to play a lot of PC VR games with it.

The Vision Pro doesn’t come with controllers, remember? This means that if you want to utilize this for PC VR gaming specifically, you’ll have to go out of your way to get controllers and trackers, which you’ll then have to set up manually. And that, on top of a headset, which already costs $3,500 takes some… Dedication.

But, honestly, I’m not looking forward to that, because the Vision Pro was never designed to provide such an experience anyway. What I’m hoping is that someone will be able to get Windows to work with the Vision Pro’s screen mirroring tech and if ALVR is a gateway to that happening: I can’t wait!

And then, I’m also fine with playing some high-quality PC games on a big, 4K MR screen. That works too.