Apple’s WWDC is currently underway and now we’ve finally got our hands on all the juicy details for visionOS 2. Apple Vision Pro will be getting a major update to its operating system, and along with it, some much-appreciated new features.
VisionOS 2 is the first significant update for Apple’s headset. Consumers were looking forward to dedicated apps for Vision Pro, improved eye and hand tracking, custom gestures and more. So which of these, if any, are we getting with visionOS 2? Here are all the newest features coming to Apple’s MR (Mixed Reality) headset.
New features in visionOS 2
The Photos app on Vision Pro is getting an option to convert normal images into spatial photos. This will be done via "advanced machine learning" that analyzes a photo and creates different views from it for both eyes. The different views can then be combined to bring depth to the photo on Vision Pro.
Photos is also getting SharePlay support. Now you can view photos on the Vision Pro with other people who can appear as Personas: Apple's digital recreations of people in MR. And Vimeo is also getting a dedicated app for Vision Pro.
The Photos app pops forward when you look at it in Vision Pro's home menu. | Image credit — PhoneArena
As enthusiasts hoped, new gestures are coming to visionOS. Tapping will now open up the home menu and turning your hand over will bring up further options including the time.
Mac Virtual Display — where you can use the Vision Pro as an external display for your Mac — is getting improvements too. Virtual displays will now have better resolution and will get the option to be enlarged to much larger sizes than currently possible. You can even make the display so large it curves around you.
This could very well be the future of monitors. Image credit — PhoneArena
But how will the Vision Pro handle larger displays and better resolutions? Apple is bringing foveated rendering to Mac Virtual Display. Foveated rendering means areas of the display in your peripheral vision or further away from the center of your vision will be rendered at a lower resolution. The Vision Pro will track your eyes and your Mac will do the hard work.
An example illustration of how foveated rendering works. | Image credit — Unity Technologies
Travel Mode — which allowed you to use your Vision Pro on a plane — is now getting support for trains as well. VR headsets don't do too well when you're in a moving vehicle. This update to Travel Mode is going to be quite helpful, especially for people who commute frequently by train.
What does visionOS 2 bring for creators?
Apple CEO Tim Cook also mentioned how the company was making it much easier for developers to create for Vision Pro. This will be done by giving them access to Volumetric API, Enterprise API, TabletopKit and more.
Lastly, Canon will be releasing a special lens for capturing spatial videos later this year. Professional videographers can bring their stories to life with Canon's EOS R7 digital camera.
Canon's new spatial lens can allegedly capture excellent footage in the most challenging lighting conditions. | Image credit — PhoneArena
The Apple Vision Pro is one of the best AR headsets on the market. It’s also Apple’s first XR (Extended Reality) device. Though the Vision Pro remains too expensive for most consumers, Apple is gaining valuable insight into what people want from a headset like this.
VisionOS 2 shows Apple is learning and adapting to the XR industry. The update brings a handful of quality-of-life improvements Vision Pro users will greatly benefit from. And personally, it makes me hopeful that Apple’s experience means the reports of Vision Pro 2 being cheaper are true. It will also probably be a much more complete product at launch, I assume.
VisionOS 2 will be launching later this year in Fall. By then, many people around the world will have gotten Apple's headset. Because Vision Pro's international launch takes place this Summer.
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Abdullah is an ardent believer in the future of VR, and can't wait to see what more it brings to the table as technology improves. He enjoys covering new software releases in the XR industry, as well as major news about hardware and companies focused on VR.
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