What's new in Vision OS?

What's New in VisionOS

VisionOS has introduced several exciting new features and enhancements, particularly for the Apple Vision Pro. Here are some of the key updates:

1. Enhanced Scene Understanding:

   • VisionOS now allows for more creative app experiences by letting developers decide if the user's hands should appear in front of or behind the content.
   • The fidelity of scene understanding capabilities has been significantly extended. Planes can now be detected in all orientations, and objects can be anchored on surfaces in the surroundings.
   • The concept of room anchors has been added, which considers the user's surroundings on a per-room basis and can detect user movement across rooms.
   • A new object tracking API allows attaching content to individual objects around the user, enabling new dimensions of interactivity. For example, virtual instructions can be attached to physical objects (Platforms State of the Union).

2. Spatial Computing Opportunities:

   • VisionOS is built on the foundation of macOS, iOS, and iPadOS, making it easier for developers to create spatial computing apps using familiar tools and frameworks like SwiftUI, RealityKit, and ARKit.
   • ARKit powers spatial experiences with deeper interaction and understanding of the world around the user (Platforms State of the Union).

3. HealthKit Integration:

   • VisionOS supports immersive health experiences. For example, 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 experience can be saved to HealthKit (Get started with HealthKit in visionOS).
   • VisionOS includes a guest user feature, allowing others to set up and try out Apple Vision Pro while preserving the owner's data and privacy (Get started with HealthKit in visionOS).

4. Device Management:

   • VisionOS 2.0 has extended management for Apple Vision Pro to support most MDM payloads, configurations, and commands, making it as easy to manage as an iPhone or iPad (What’s new in device management).

5. Enterprise APIs:

   • New enterprise APIs have been introduced to support deployment at scale, enabling use cases across productivity, collaborative design, simulation, training, and guided work (Introducing enterprise APIs for visionOS).

Relevant Sessions

• Platforms State of the Union
• Get started with HealthKit in visionOS
• What’s new in device management
• Introducing enterprise APIs for visionOS
• Design great visionOS apps
• Create enhanced spatial computing experiences with ARKit

These updates highlight the continuous evolution of VisionOS, making it a powerful platform for creating immersive and interactive spatial computing experiences.