What’s new in visionos

What’s New in visionOS

Overview

Apple has introduced several new features and enhancements in visionOS, aimed at creating more immersive and interactive experiences for users. Here are some of the key updates:

Spatial Computing and App Development

Spatial UI Layout: Developers have been able to recompile their iOS and iPadOS apps to run on visionOS, leveraging the spatial UI layout to create immersive experiences. For example, DJ recompiled their SwiftUI-based iPad app for visionOS and extended it for spatial computing (Platforms State of the Union).
Scene Understanding: The fidelity of scene understanding capabilities has been significantly extended. Planes can now be detected in all orientations, and room anchors consider the user's surroundings on a per-room basis. This allows for anchoring objects on surfaces and detecting user movement across rooms (Platforms State of the Union).
Object Tracking API: A new object tracking API allows developers to attach content to individual objects found around the user, enabling new dimensions of interactivity (Platforms State of the Union).

HealthKit Integration

Immersive Health Experiences: Users can enter an immersive space to reflect on their feelings, with the surrounding pass-through dimming to provide a sense of separation from the workspace. This enhances the user experience by minimizing distractions (Get started with HealthKit in visionOS).
Guest User Feature: VisionOS includes a guest user feature that allows others to set up and try out Apple Vision Pro while preserving the owner's data and privacy (Get started with HealthKit in visionOS).

Development Tools and Frameworks

Common Frameworks: VisionOS is built on the foundation of macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, using common tools and frameworks like SwiftUI, RealityKit, and ARKit. This allows developers to write code once and use it across multiple platforms (Platforms State of the Union).
Web Development: Developers can inspect DOM content, CSS rules, and use the JavaScript console for WebXR experiences. This is facilitated by connecting the Vision Pro to a Mac, making it easier to debug and develop web content for visionOS (Optimize for the spatial web).

Gaming on visionOS

Game Porting: Developers can bring their iOS or iPadOS games to visionOS by using the visionOS SDK. This includes adding a frame and an immersive space, stereoscopy, head tracking, and VRR to optimize performance (Bring your iOS or iPadOS game to visionOS).

Relevant Sessions

These updates and tools make visionOS a powerful platform for creating next-generation spatial computing experiences.