Apple Vision Pro, the company's exciting new $3,500 Spatial Computing Augmented Reality headset, is about to take its next step to become your central computing and entertainment. For app developers on two of Apple’s most popular platforms, iOS and iPadOS, it's big news, as hundreds of thousands of iPhone and iPad apps and games are about to arrive on Vision Pro.
Apple says that an upcoming developer beta release of visionOS will include the new version of the App Store, filled with iPad and iOS apps. This will give developers the opportunity to test out their apps in the VisionOS simulator that’s a part of Xcode 15 beta.
iPhone and iPad apps on Vision OS
Developers will also be told if there are compatibility issues with their apps and Vision Pro, so that they can make the necessary updates and get the apps working properly. Most apps, however, Apple says will have ‘no additional work required’ to get them working — although they might want to bring them on board with the visionOS SDK.
That will truly bring the apps into the Vision Pro fold, adopting ‘standard visionOS system appearance’ so that you can ‘add elements, such as 3D content tuned for eyes and hands input’. The fact that so many apps will already run properly means that some developers may be more likely to make visionOS versions, given most of the groundwork has been laid for them.
Vision Pro apps — iMore’s take
We already knew that the headset would be getting iPhone and iPad apps, but this developer update brings that feature closer to the final release next year. Whenever that may be.
It will be really interesting to see how these apps work on Vision Pro — is there a floating iPad screen that you can use to run Procreate? A floating iPhone on which you can play Doodle Jump? Developers will get to find out soon, and if you’ve access to the Vision Pro simulator, then you can too.
It does make the prospect of more apps quite exciting, however, as it means there will be a litany of pre-prepared experiences ready to go as soon as the device is in your hands. This will eliminate the issue that other new platforms find themselves with much of the time; a distinct lack of content and apps on launch.
We’re unlikely to see much from Vision Pro at next week's Apple event, so we’re probably not going to learn much anytime soon. We will learn more about the iPhone 15, however, so we’re getting ready for some big launches coming up. Just not Vision Pros; that is still likely coming next year. At least it will be filled with apps when it does.
