Apple’s Vision Pro has not sold well, but the operating system it uses has huge potential. visionOS and its gesture-based system remains stunning sensor and camera-based technology that you have to experience to believe.
While Apple gave us the Vision Pro M5 refresh a couple of months ago, it doesn’t sound like there will be a follow-up. Rumours suggest Apple has canned work on headsets in favour of shrinking the technology into smart glasses in 2027 or 2028.
The revamp of the Vision Pro gave the headset a real power-up, but the device remains a niche purchase, not helped by the onerous weight of the headset, the march of smart glasses and the patchy app support for visionOS.
But there’s huge potential in the software and it’s really exciting to see where Apple will take its Vision series of products over the coming years. So what features did Apple update in visionOS 26 this year?
Widgets may not sound like the sexiest update, but apps can feel very siloed on Vision Pro and bringing that information into the space in front of you can be very useful, especially as you often go into the full-screen menu. The Apple widgets are decent, but developers can get on board as well as you’d expect.
visionOS 26 now supports playback of 180 and 360 degree action cam footage from Insta360, GoPro, and Canon. And rather than bother with creating their own controllers when they don’t want to, Apple has decided to add support for PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers for wider app and game compatibility.
Personas have also been updated. These are the digital avatars that are supposed to be natural and familiar. They are now a bit sharper with more accurate complexions. The whole concept still feels a little like a journey into the uncanny valley though…
visionOS 26 enables multiple people (each with a Vision Pro headset, natch) in the same room to see the same content. Although Apple says this could be for entertainment purposes, I reckon it’ll be used more for training people. Although Vision Pro is set up as a personal device by default, you can share devices – an individual’s hand, eye, prescription and other settings can be saved to their own iPhone and moved across to another device.
Some of the best features are also the smallest. You can unlock your iPhone with the headset on – this was a total pain before as Face ID doesn’t work with the headset on of course. You can also take calls from your iPhone with the headset. And you can call from Vision Pro too.
Spatial scenes are also interesting, using generative AI to create depth within images to make you feel like you can lean into images and look around. This works in the Photos app, Spatial Gallery app, and Safari and there’s a way that developers can implement it in their own apps. You’re able to view 3D models embedded in web pages in Safari, too.
Other visionOS 26 features include folders in the home view, Look to Scroll that enables you to browse web pages using just your eyes and a redesigned Control Center with more settings.
“With visionOS 26, we’re excited to push the boundaries even further,” said Mike Rockwell, Apple’s vice president of the Vision Products Group. “We’re incredibly excited for users to enjoy features like apps and widgets that they can arrange in their spaces, spatial scenes that offer a brand-new viewing experience for their photos, and dramatically enhanced Personas on Vision Pro.”
By the way if you haven’t tried Vision Pro, you can book a free appointment online for most Apple Stores to have a full 30 minute demo. It’s worth doing, believe me.
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