Apple has released new tools to enable developers to create apps for Apple Vision Pro. The company says the tools will let developers create a new class of spatial computing apps that take full advantage of the infinite canvas in Vision Pro and seamlessly blend digital content with the physical world.
The visionOS SDK lets developers design app experiences across a variety of categories including productivity, design, gaming and more.
Developers can leverage the same foundational frameworks they already know from other Apple platforms, including Xcode, SwiftUI, RealityKit, ARKit and TestFlight. These tools enable developers 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
- Spaces, which can fully immerse a user in an environment with unbounded 3D content.
Developers can optimise 3D content for their visionOS apps and games with a new Xcode tool called Reality Composer Pro. They can preview and prepare 3D models, animations, images and sounds. They can also interact with their apps in the new visionOS simulator to explore and test various room layouts and lighting conditions. And every developer framework comes with built-in support for Apple’s accessibility features to ensure spatial computing and visionOS apps are accessible to everyone.
The visionOS SDK, updated Xcode, Simulator and Reality Composer Pro are available for Apple Developer Program members at developer.apple.com. Registered Apple developers have access to a variety of resources to help them design, develop and test apps for Apple Vision Pro, including extensive technical documentation, new design kits and updated human interface guidelines for visionOS.
To learn more about designing new app experiences for Apple Vision Pro, or to apply for a developer kit starting next month, developers can visit developer.apple.com/visionos.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.