Apple Unveils Significant Vision Pro Enhancements in VisionOS 26; Developer Beta Now Available

Alright, so let’s dive into this whole VisionOS 26 thing. Apple’s got this big update lined up for the Vision Pro — their fancy headset. Yep, they say developers can start poking around with it today. The official launch? Later this year, fingers crossed. Oh, and they’ve decided to tack the year’s name onto the update for some reason. Got to love Apple’s quirks.

First up, there’s something about motion controllers. Ever since Vision Pro showed up (without those fancy controllers), people have been whining. And now, boom — Apple says, “Okay, fine,” and posits a team-up with Sony. So, PSVR 2 controllers are coming to play. Also, Logitech’s got this spatial stylus thingy. Don’t even ask me what that involves.

And hey, speaking of stuff in your hand — they’re rolling out some ‘breakthrough’ thing for gamepads. Ever had that problem where you’re in VR and suddenly can’t find your controller? Now you can see the darn thing, even when it usually just poofs away. How? Magic, maybe. I always wondered…

Then there are these things called widgets. Think of them as those tiny annoying blocks on your phone but now stuck on your walls in VR. Great, right? Supposedly they’re glued there forever — or until you decide to rip them off. Not like those app windows that just float around like lazy clouds. Oh, and they’re planning on supporting widgets from other Apple devices too.

On to avatars, or ‘Personas’ as Apple insists on calling them. Apparently, your virtual self will look less like a ghost now. Thank goodness! The boost includes more natural skin and hair. I can almost hear the techies cheering from here.

And for the social butterflies — co-located experiences. You put on a fancy headset, your buddy does the same, and voila! Virtual stuff appears in the same spot for both of you. Who would’ve thought hanging out could get so… digital? SharePlay and FaceTime are tagging along too. So, if you’re apart, no worries.

Here’s a kicker — photos are going 3D, sorta. Spatial photos, they call them, with depth and parallax. Which means if you move your head left, you might actually see around things in the image. It’s these little tech miracles that get you, right?

Safari now has ‘Spatial Browsing.’ So, when you’re browsing the web, images start acting all 3D-like. Devs can even give web pages a full immersive backdrop. Suddenly, buying socks online feels like a trip to another dimension.

More video formats are coming in smooth as butter. Vision Pro could already do spatial video, but now it’ll handle all your GoPro or Insta360 antics in 180° or 360°. Extreme to the max.

Last but definitely not least, hand-tracking gets a speed boost, up to 90Hz. Less lag means less frustration, I hope.

So, there’s a bunch more buried in here, but those are the headliners. For now, you can snag that developer beta. As for public release… who knows? Apple’s timeline is like waiting for a bus in the rain — unpredictable but guaranteed to happen eventually.