From spatial widgets to realistic Personas: All the visionOS updates Apple announced at WWDC
Apple’s updates for Visionos 26, the operating system that drives its mixed reality headset, building on the Apple Vision Pro Spatial Computer from last year that combines digital content with the physical world. At WWDC, Apple announced a series of updates for both consumer and business customers, from new spatial widgets and content to more realistic personas and more.
Apple’s widgets offer personalized and useful information at a glance. With Visionos 26 they become spatial and integrate into your room. You can adjust the widgets to the size, color and depth that you like and place them where you want.
New widgets contain a clock that you can decorate, the weather that can adapt to the weather in your area, music for quick access to tunes and photos that can transform into a panorama or a “window to another room”.
Add depth to 2D images
An update of the Visionos photos -App uses a new AI algorithm that uses the computational depth to take multiple perspectives for your 2D photos, which brings images to life. Apple says it will feel like you can “lean in and look around.”
Spatial browsing on Safari can also make a more compelling experience through web browsen. With certain supported articles, spatial browsing can hide distractions and unveil inline photos that “come to life while you browse.” Developers can also add spatial browsing to their own apps.
Talking heads
Apple has released Personas, an AI Avatar to represent you on video calls, on the Vision Pro as a beta function last year. With Visionos 26, Apple says that personas “represent you more realistically.”
The new personas use “volumetric rendering and machine learning technology” to improve everything, of what you look like in the entire side profile view to delivering more accurate-looking hair, eyelashes and complexion. Personas are all made in a “matter of seconds on the devices,” says Apple.
Immerse
With Visionos 26 you and a different headset-bearing friend can watch a movie or play a spatial game together.
This possibility is also marketed for company customers, so that users can work together. For example, 3D design company Dassault Systèmes uses the possibility with its 3DLive app to visualize 3D designs personally and with external colleagues.
Visionos 26 also easily let organizations share a common pool of devices with team members, and even safely stores your eye and hand data, vision recipe and accessibility settings on your iPhone, so that users can quickly use a shared team device or the Vision Pro of a friend as a guest user.
Apple said it would add more APIs, so that companies can make apps designed for Visionos. There is a new mode for ‘only before your eyes’ that ensures that only those who have gained access can see confidential material.
Finally, Apple announced to Logitech Muse built for Vision Pro, a spatial accessory built for the headset with which you can draw and work together with precision in 3D.
Other Visionos 26 Updates
More Apple Intelligence functions come to the Apple Vision Pro. Visionos 26, for example, supports new languages such as French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish, together with support for English in Australia, Canada, India, Singapore and the UK
Users can now also “look to scroll” with their eyes only to explore apps and websites. They can now also unlock their iPhone while wearing the Apple Vision Pro, even when wearing the headset, and Visionos supports the passing on of iPhone, so that you can accept a phone call from the Apple Vision Pro.
