WWDC: visionOS hits 2.0, Vision Pro goes international

At WWDC, Apple announced the new version of the Vision Pro OS, visionOS 2, and confirmed the device will be made available in new nations starting later this month.

The new iteration of the OS is the big news. Apple says this lets you create spatial photos with images from your library. It also delivers support for intuitive hand gestures, and new features for Mac Virtual Display, Travel Mode, and Guest User.

Now shipping in…

Customers in China mainland, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore can pre-order Apple Vision Pro on June 13, and customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the U.K. can pre-order on June 28. The UK price is £3,499.

What Apple said

“Apple Vision Pro delivers revolutionary experiences for users and developers, and we’re excited to advance spatial computing even further with visionOS 2 just months after its initial release,” said Mike Rockwell, Apple’s vice president of the Vision Products Group. “From navigating visionOS more seamlessly to pushing the boundaries of how users connect with memories, and enhancements to key Vision Pro apps, we can’t wait for users to experience the range of new capabilities with visionOS 2. And with a robust set of tools that enable developers to create richer spatial apps, visionOS 2 makes Vision Pro even more powerful.”

What’s new in visionOS 2?

With over 2,000 spatial apps designed for Apple Vision Pro, and more than 1.5 million compatible iOS and iPadOS apps, visionOS 2 enables developers to take further advantage of spatial computing with new tools.

Developers gain new tools

 visionOS 2 includes new APIs and frameworks developers can use. These include volumetric APIs, a virtual tabletop API called TableTopKit, Barcode Scanning and Object Tracking APIs. HealthKit also comes to Vision Pro for the creation of health apps.

Later this year, Blackmagic Design will launch the first-ever commercially available camera system, and an update to its post-production software DaVinci Resolve Studio, to support Apple Immersive Video, giving professional filmmakers around the world tools to create remarkable stories with this ultra-immersive storytelling format.

New gesture controls

visionOS understands new hand gestures, which should make it much easier to invoke instructionslike getting to Home View, Control Center, or finding information you need, The new gestures allow users to see important information at a glance, like the current time and battery level, and perform actions like adjusting the volume.

Spatial photos

visionOS uses advanced machine learning to transform 2D images into beautiful spatial photos on Vision Pro, making those images feel as if you are there. Canon will offer a brand-new spatial lens for its popular EOS R7 digital camera to capture spatial video, even in challenging lighting conditions. An update to Final Cut Pro will enable creators to edit spatial videos on their Mac while the Vimeo app will be able to upload and share spatial videos.

Mac Virtual Display

Mac Virtual Display in Vision Pro will let you create a virtual ultra-wide display that is equivalent to two 4K monitors side by side. visionOS 2 also adds mouse support for additional workflow options, and Vision Pro will now reveal the user’s physical Magic Keyboard — even when they are fully immersed in an Environment or app.

Additional features include:

• Users can now personalise their Home View by rearranging apps and placing them wherever they want.
• Travel Mode adds support for trains.
• A new Guest User can be set up to share the device, their eye and hand data will be saved for 30 days so they can use the device.
• While in Safari, users can watch videos in an Environment.
• While scrolling through webpages, users can tap on panoramic photos and immerse themselves as the image wraps around them.
• Siri can read and speak the content of a webpage while users multitask.
• The Apple TV app brings support for multiview to Apple Vision Pro for sports-viewing.
• Systemwide Live Captions help everyone — including users who are deaf or hard of hearing — follow along with spoken dialogue in live conversations and in audio from apps.
• Users can view content on their Vision Pro with AirPlay from their iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

The developer preview of visionOS 2 is available to Apple Developer Program members now.

More WWDC coverage, please also read

• WWDC: Will Apple lead the world in AI?
• WWDC: Apple announces Apple Intelligence
• WWDC: Private Cloud is the future of cloud services
• WWDC: What’s new in iOS 18 which ships this fall?
• WWDC: This is what’s coming to the Mac with Sequoia
• WWDC: iPads get smarter, gain calculator, more
• WWDC: visionOS hits 2.0, Vision Pro goes international
• WWDC: Xcode gains a little AI of its own, making coding easier
• WWDC: Apple ramps up its developer support
• iPhone + AI will launch an Apple upgrade cycle

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