Apple has launched a range of software tools for developers to work with Apple Vision Pro, the 'spatial computer' Apple introduced last month at WWDC23.

Apple Vision Pro uses a new spatial operating system called visionOS, and let users interact with digital content in their physical space using inputs from the user's eyes, hands, and voice.

Vision Pro looks like a pair of wrap-around sunglasses combined with a VR headset. It has an ultra-high-resolution display system of 23 million pixels across two displays, and custom Apple silicon in a dual-chip design "to ensure every experience feels like it’s taking place in front of the user’s eyes in real time."

The new visionOS SDK gives developers the tools to use Vision Pro and visionOS to design apps for the display, blending digital content with the physical world. Next month, Apple will open developer labs in Cupertino, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo to provide developers with hands-on experience to test their apps on Apple Vision Pro hardware and get support from Apple engineers. Development teams will also be able to apply for developer kits.

The SDK lets developers use existing foundational frameworks including Xcode, SwiftUI, RealityKit, ARKit, and TestFlight. Apple says this means developers will be able to

"create new types of apps that span a spectrum of immersion, including windows, which have depth and can showcase 3D content; volumes, which create experiences that are viewable from any angle; and spaces, which can fully immerse a user in an environment with unbounded 3D content."

To help developers optimize 3D content for their visionOS apps and games,  a new tool called Reality Composer Pro has been added to Xcode. This lets developers preview and prepare 3D models, animations, images, and sounds. There's also a new visionOS simulator to explore and test various room layouts and lighting conditions.

Starting next month, developers who have been building 3D apps and games with Unity's authoring tools can port their Unity apps to Apple Vision Pro.

 

More Information

Discover visionOS

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