visionOS

Will 2025 be a big year for Apple’s exciting new Vision Pro platform? With a fast new chip, a major software upgrade and more jaw-dropping content, there could be a lot in store for the AR/VR headset next year.

The fledgling device is likely to get worthy new hardware upgrades — and maybe even a price drop. visionOS 3, the next major software update, will have had a full 12 months in the oven. That means it could be a substantial release. And as production of 3D immersive content continues to get easier, there may finally be a lot more spatial video to watch on the headset. In fact, that could turn out to be the device’s killer app.

Apple gave developers access to the release candidates of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.1 on Monday. This is the last round of testing before introducing them to the public, which means Apple Intelligence will finally launch in about a week.

Release candidates for tvOS 18.1 and visionOS 2.1 also went out. However, watchOS 11.1 RC is not yet available.

visionOS 2 adds a whole bunch of fantastic new quality-of-life features to Apple’s premium mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro. New hand gestures make it easy to bring up the Home View or Control Center, Spatial Photos are a great way to look at your pictures and the new virtual environments are a visual treat.

visionOS 2 is a fantastic update you should install right away — and it’s out right now. Find it in Settings > General > Software Update.

After you update, here’s the list of things you can check out.

If you own an Apple device, it probably needs an operating system update. That includes iPhone, Mac, iPad Apple Watch … even Vision Pro. The hefty list of security-focused upgrades released Monday by Apple includes iOS 17.6, macOS Sonoma 14.6 and more.

They patch a list of more than two dozen vulnerabilities detailed on Apple’s security update page.

Apple has added support for alternative payment methods to the visionOS App Store. This move comes following the release of visionOS 1.2 in early June.

The Vision Pro’s App Store will support alternative payment methods only in the EU, where the headset launches on July 12.

Apple will reportedly bring Apple Intelligence to the Vision Pro. The AI-powered features will not arrive alongside iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia, but will eventually come to Apple’s AR/VR headset.

Many Apple Intelligence features would greatly benefit visionOS and help speed up its existing workflows.

You can download the visionOS 2 developer beta for free — right now. You can get a look at the exciting new features coming to the Vision Pro before the update is shipped to everyone. Unlike other platforms, there is no public beta option, only the developer beta.

Of course, there are a few things you should look out for. Beta software can be buggy and can lead to data loss or apps that don’t work. Not to mention, some of the most exciting features announced at WWDC24 aren’t included yet, like ultra-wide Mac virtual display.

If you’re still sure you want to try it out, you should make sure you have a backup of your most important data with two copies of your photo library before you try installing. I’ll show you how.

During its WWDC24 keynote Monday, Apple laid out dramatic new software updates coming to iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Vision Pro — and the awesome Apple Intelligence features that will power them all.

But if you don’t have time to watch the full hour and 45-minute long affair, here it is in just 90 seconds.

Those in Europe and Asia eager to get an Apple Vision Pro supposedly won’t have to wait much longer. Consumers in more than half a dozen countries will reportedly be able to buy the AR/VR headset in about a week.

The product launched in the U.S. this winter, but an announcement of broader availability isn’t expected until June 10 at WWDC24.

Apple showcased some remarkable new accessibility features for people with disabilities Wednesday, including Eye Tracking, Music Haptics and Vocal Shortcuts.

The new features, coming later this year to Apple devices, harness Apple silicon, artificial intelligence and machine learning. They will come mainly to iPhone and iPad, though some new ones will appear in Vision Pro’s visionOS, too.

“We believe deeply in the transformative power of innovation to enrich lives,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a press release. “That’s why for nearly 40 years, Apple has championed inclusive design by embedding accessibility at the core of our hardware and software. We’re continuously pushing the boundaries of technology, and these new features reflect our long-standing commitment to delivering the best possible experience to all of our users.”

The new Best Buy Envision app helps you find new purchases through a Vision Pro AR/VR headset and picture how they’ll look in your living space, the company said Friday.

“Today we’re announcing a new way that our customers can explore, discover and bring new technology to life in their own living space,” the big box store noted. “Best Buy Envision is an app exclusively available on the Apple Vision Pro that helps users plan their ultimate home technology setup.”

Vision Pro and spatial computing can help businesses find new ways to customize workspaces, collaborate on 3D designs, deliver specialized employee training and guide remote fieldwork, Apple said Tuesday, citing visionOS apps.

“There’s tremendous opportunity for businesses to reimagine what’s possible using Apple Vision Pro at work,” said Susan Prescott, Apple’s vice president of worldwide developer relations and enterprise marketing, in a statement.

Apple will make Spatial Personas, a more lifelike enhancement of the Persona feature for the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, available in the visionOS 1.1 update coming Tuesday.

In beta test versions of the software, Spatial Personas allow Vision Pro users to create and interact with customizable, free-floating 3D digital avatars in virtual spaces. They enhance collaboration via SharePlay while going beyond the limits of a little box on a FaceTime call.

Apple made the visionOS App Store available for anyone to look through. The change will give anyone thinking about buying the Vision Pro AR headset a preview at what software is available.

Previously, the list of available app was only viewable by those who already owned the cutting-edge computer that launched in the United States in February.

Vision Pro is years ahead of its time. Apple’s AR headset lets us see today what using an average computer a decade in the future will be like.

In 2034, being surrounded by physical screens will seem charmingly obsolete. Virtual displays of any size generated by an AR headset from Apple (or its rivals) will take the place of displays connected to our computers, phones, watches, etc. And that’s only the start.

You can experience the coming revolution now because Vision Pro is another example of Apple giving us a glimpse of the future.

You’d think readers of a website called Cult of Mac would be into Apple products. But a straw poll of Cult of Mac Today readers found a whopping 76% of respondents plan to return their Vision Pro to Apple.

The eye-popping number comes as droves of Vision Pro early adopters say they plan to take advantage of Apple’s generous return policy. Discomfort, the headset’s high price and the lack of a clear use case for the isolating device top the list of reasons cited by disaffected Vision Pro owners.

Control Center in Vision Pro works very differently than on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac. But as with Apple’s other platforms, you can customize the Vision Pro Control Center to make it far more useful.

The first few days after I got my Vision Pro, I found Control Center to be intensely irritating. It constantly appeared in my field of view, bugging me like a hair in my mouth or a piece of popcorn in my teeth.

Luckily, with just a few changes, you can make Control Center way less annoying.

TikTok just outraced some of its biggest rivals by releasing a native Vision Pro application. The short video service that’s become a global phenomenon can now be enjoyed on Apple’s AR headset thanks to the TikTok Vision Pro app.

The head of development for the new app says the company “redesigned the entire TikTok experience.”

The Vision Pro’s virtual, floating-in-the-air keyboard has been nearly universally condemned. There’s no way around it: Typing on Vision Pro sucks.

But people said the same thing about the original iPhone, which ditched a physical keyboard compared to the BlackBerry. And these days, physical keyboards for your iPhone are more of a novelty than a standard accessory that everybody buys.

So to get to the bottom of exactly how bad the Vision Pro keyboard is, I took a bunch of different typing tests across a bunch of different keyboards. And the results I found were incredibly surprising. I accidentally discovered the best way to input text in Vision Pro.

Check out our latest YouTube video or keep reading to see what happened.

Many early adopters seem set on returning their Apple Vision Pro headsets. As the 14-day return window approaches for people who bought the device on launch day, an avalanche of posts on X and other social media channels point to a wave of Vision Pro returns.

Apparently, it’s not just Mark Zuckerberg who thinks Apple’s expensive headset isn’t worth the money. There appears to be a mass exodus of early adopters who ponied up the cash for Apple’s pricey headset. They cite three main reasons for returning Vision Pro. But is the situation really as bad as it seems?

It’s possible to share your screen in your Vision Pro so that other people can see what you’re seeing, too. This is especially helpful in Vision Pro Guest Mode, to help you guide newbies through the unfamiliar headset.

Vision Pro is an exciting new product, but it can be isolating. The incredible experiences it enables aren’t social. However, you can AirPlay your screen to a nearby Apple TV, iPad, Mac or iPhone.

Here’s how.

You can easily fix Apple Vision Pro eye tracking and hand tracking if your headset starts to act up. You’ll want to follow the steps below if the device stops accurately tracking your gaze or your hand gestures.

As you probably know, hand tracking and eye tracking are essential to using Vision Pro. When they don’t work as well as possible, it’s incredibly frustrating. I know, because sometimes the headset’s sensors have a hard time tracking my eyes up and down. It’s like using an iPad stylus on a touchscreen that’s slightly uncalibrated.

The quick methods below can fix some Vision Pro eye- and hand-tracking problems for you.  You can approach trigger a reset three different ways — by pressing a button on the headset, going into Settings or asking Siri for help — all with the same ultimate result. (In my experience, this is one situation in which Siri excels.)

Whether to add new features or squash bugs, Apple releases Vision Pro updates from time to time. (The latest one, visionOS 1.0.3, arrived Monday. It eliminates a major headache that plagued Vision Pro owners who forgot their devices’ passcodes.) Luckily, downloading and installing visionOS updates is easy once you know how.

In fact, installing Vision Pro software updates proves very similar to the process for updating an iPhone, iPad or Mac. We’ll show you how it’s done — and also how to get visionOS beta updates. If you want to take a chance on betas, you can test upcoming Vision Pro features before they officially arrive.

Apple released visionOS 1.0.3 to users of the Vision Pro on Monday. It’s the first to go out since the launch, and is primarily a bug-fix patch.

That said, the new version deals with a problem that previously sent some users to an Apple retail store looking for technical assistance.

Apple insiders think the Vision Pro is at least four generations away from reaching its “ideal form.” Apple still needs to do a lot of work behind the scenes before the headset can potentially become as popular as an iPhone or Mac.

While the first-gen headset has issues, it is an impressive first try from Apple.