Apple Unveils Vision Pro’s Upcoming Persistent Widget System in VisionOS 26

Man, so WWDC happened, and Apple did its usual thing—throwing new tech stuff at us. This time, it’s about widgets for Vision Pro with visionOS 26. And honestly? It’s kinda neat. They’re like those magnets you slap on your fridge, but for walls or tables in your virtual space. I mean, they just stick there—a bit odd, maybe, but cool nonetheless.

And Apple’s all, “Here’s how you do it!” in one of their developer sessions. Widgets aren’t just gonna float around randomly anymore. They actually stay put—think digital photos nailed in place, even if you restart your headset. Feels more real, you know?

Oh, here’s a random thought—these widgets can come from iOS or iPadOS, which means, yay, more stuff for us! Apple’s been tinkering with this WidgetKit thing too, giving us funky new sizes. It’s like, “Hey, you want tall, skinny, or short and wide?” The choices, man.

Anyway—wait, was I rambling? They have this ‘paper’ or ‘glass’ overlay. Like, seriously, they thought about how these things will react to your room’s light. The paper mode dims like your grandma’s living room lights. But the glass version? Bright and shiny, keeping everything clearly visible.

Now, there’s one widget I can’t get out of my head. It’s, like, a photo window? Imagine a virtual window that shows a panoramic view. Pretty rad, right? Though, bummer—still flat. No depth yet. One day, perhaps…

Oh yeah, Clock widget. Got a facelift. Looks sharp up close with this new detail. Widgets need to feel part of your space. Not just floating nonsense. They sit there, casting shadows and everything. It’s wild how much thought goes into these details.

People can mess with sizes—make widgets big, small, like those Ikea frames. You could even ‘recess’ them, so they seem built into the wall—strangely satisfying.

There’s more—colors! We get to pick from a rainbow, either bright or moody dark. Plus, they snap into a grid when put near each other. Like a tidy supermarket shelf. Satisfying to see, really.

And they’re interactive! Tap, pinch, whatever, they respond. Forget something bland; they bounce you to their app if they’ve got nothing else going on. All this is in the developer beta (yep, available now). They say we’ll all get to tinker with this stuff come fall.

Widgets. Who knew they’d be the star of the show?