Vision Pro: Developers are only now getting it

Apple is quietly beginning work to ramp up discussion around what to expect from Vision Pro, and one way to achieve this turns out to be sharing some of the first look stories emerging as developers tried these devices for the first time.

Vision Pro vision on

On its developers site, the company has shared a set of first person reactions from developers who have attended one of the Apple Vision Pro labs that are taking place right now.

At these labs, developers can try their own apps, or use other people’s apps, in order to experience Apple’s mixed reality products for the first time. Apple Vision Pro developer labs are available in Cupertino, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo.

While it is true to say that Apple will inevitably cherry pick these accounts to put its new toys in the best possible light, what is interesting is the collectively shared excitement developers seem to share. Even when you add a lot of cold water to the claims made in the report, it seems clear the devices are capable of delivering the kind of high-quality experience you don’t get on other devices in the category.

What they are saying

Developers use phrases like:

• “It felt like I was part of the app.” Michael Simmons, Flex bits.
• “The first time you see your own app running for real, that’s when you get the audible gasp.” David Smith, Widgetsmith.
• “I’ve truly seen how to start building for the boundless canvas.” Michael Simmons, Flexibits.

Now, I’m already relatively convinced that the experiences Apple’s systems are going to deliver will be second to no one, and that once potential customers troop down to an Apple Retail store to try these things out the $1,799 price tag won’t seem quite as bad, to some.

But the real takeaway I’m getting from what developers are saying in rection to these devices is that they are now attempting to identity how to build apps that work in multiple dimensions.

Now we can see it, we can build it

Trying to do this in a relevant and useful way will be the big challenge developers have to face, but the rewards in getting it right will be to spearhead all new advances in user interaction. You see, while Minority Report may have gone a pretty long way in explaining how we might use these kinds of environments, now we actually have tech to enable that kind of experience the true potential remains to be realized.

[Also read: How to use eyes and gestures to control Vision Pro]

Essentially, we’re at the cusp of developing a fresh approach with a set of solutions that both augment existing ways of working and potentially open up all new ideas, some of which we need to actually gain first hand use of the tech to see. Which is going to get even more interesting as more people get the chance to be inspired.

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