Apple needs apps for its $3,500 Vision Pro headset, and the clock is ticking

On
Monday,


Apple
revealed
its

$3,500
Vision
Pro
“spatial
computing”
headset
to
the
public
ahead
of
a
planned
launch
early
next
year.

Now
Apple
needs
to
convince
developers
to
make
apps
for
it,
even
though
the
hardware
isn’t
widely
available
yet.

App
support
for
the

Vision
Pro
will
be
critical
for
its
success.
While
iPad
apps
will
be
able
to
run
inside
the
headset,
Apple
hopes
developers
will
go
beyond
porting
simple
2D
windows
to
the
platform
and
create
full
3D
apps
that
weren’t
possible
before
on
tablets,
phones
or
laptops.

“We
always
viewed
this
first
generation
device
as
a
new
tool/platform
for
developers
—
who
now
have
6+
months
until
the
headset
launches
—
to
create
the
‘killer
app’
that
takes
AR/VR
from
niche
to
mainstream,”
wrote
Morgan
Stanley
analyst
Erik
Woodring
in
a
note
Tuesday.

In
a
technically
focused
presentation
published
by
Apple
on
Monday,
called
the

Platforms
State
of
the
Union,
Apple
said
developers
would
be
able
to
simulate
apps
for
Vision
Pro
inside
Xcode,
the
primary
program
for
building
software
for
Apple
devices.
Coders
can
run
and
debug
inside
the
simulator
and
navigate
around
the
3D
space
using
their
keyboard
or
a
game
controller.

Apple
is
also
planning
to
give
some
software
makers
early
access
to
the
hardware.
It
announced
on
its
website
it
will
take
applications
for
a
developer’s
kit.
Apple
will
also
host
developers’
labs
in
California,
London,
Munich,
Shanghai,
Singapore
and
Tokyo,
with
hardware
access.
Programmers
will
have
to
apply
to
attend
those
too.

All
this
effort
is
to
ensure
the
app
store
for
the
Vision
Pro
is
stocked
when
it
eventually
goes
on
sale.

Apple
is
likely
to
succeed
at
bringing
several
apps
to
the
device
on
the
first
day.


Microsoft
said
its
Office
suite,
historically
a
must-have
for
new
operating
systems,
will
be
available
for
the
new
platform.


Disney+
will
also
be
available
for
the
headset,
bringing
movies
and
TV
shows.
Apple
is
offering
compatibility
evaluations
of
existing
iPad
and
iPhone
apps
through
its
App
Review
department
so
developers
can
determine
how
it
might
work
in
VisionOS
and
easily
port
their
games
or
software.

But
Apple’s
hope
for
third-party
apps
goes
beyond
flat
windows
floating
in
space.
In
Monday’s
presentation,
Apple
highlighted
a
few
third-party
apps
that
broke
away
from
static
floating
windows
and
showed
3D
content
interacting
with
the
real
world.

“Spatial
experiences
can
take
many
forms
and
can
include
3D
objects
that
look
and
feel
real,”
the
Apple
presenter
said.

Apple
highlighted
Complete
HeartX,
which
shows
a
3D
beating
heart
that
can
be
taken
apart
to
see
how
it
works.
JigSpace
put
a
model
of
a
giant
F1
racing
car
in
the
demo
living
room,
and
Sky
Guide
turns
the
user’s
entire
ceiling
into
a
planetarium.
A
version
of
djay
Apple
previewed
puts
virtual
turntable
decks
on
the
table
in
front
of
the
user.

At
the
end
of
Apple’s
developer-focused
presentation,
it
previewed
a
version
of
FaceTime
that
wasn’t
shown
in
the
main
launch
video,
hinting
at
what
Apple
wants
to
see
from
its
developers.

“We
want
to
take
FaceTime
to
the
next
level
on
Vision
Pro
and
empower
users
to
interact
like
they’re
actually
in
a
room
together.
This
experience
is
still
in
an
early
form,
and
we’re
excited
to
share
it
with
you
here
for
the
first
time,”
Jeff
Norris,
senior
director
of
visionOS
apps
at
Apple,
said
in
the
video.

In
the
main
presentation
Monday,
Apple
revealed
its
new
“personas,”
or
digital
recreations
of
a
person
made
with
artificial
intelligence
so
they
can
show
up
in
a
video
call
even
when
they’re
wearing
a
headset.

In
Apple’s
pre-recorded
presentation
Monday,
it
showed
a
version
of
FaceTime
where
people
who
are
videoconferencing
are
displayed
in
floating
tiles,
including
the
virtual-recreated

personas
of
someone
using
a
Reality
Pro
headset.

Apple’s
approach
to
build
realistic
avatars
contrasts
with


Meta,
whose
representations
of
people
in
its
virtual
reality
have
been
distinctly
cartoony
and
lacking
legs.


Microsoft‘s
stand-ins
are
also
cartoony.

But
in
the
“next
level”
version
of
FaceTime
shown
in
the
developer
keynote,
the
3D
avatar
was
no
longer
bounded
in
a
box.
Instead,
the
persona’s
head
floated
in
space.