During Monday’s keynote presentation at WWDC 2024, Apple hinted at several fresh features coming to Vision Pro, such as the ability to turn 2D photos into 3D and support for using a headset on trains. However, the company left out some of the most needed features it’s adding to VisionOS — and these quieter changes make the update much more electrifying.
When the update rolls out this fall, you’ll be able to utilize Magic Keyboard while working in a virtual environment, utilize any Bluetooth mouse, and rearrange icons on your home screen – including placing iPad and iPhone apps where you want. These are all features that probably should have been available from the beginning and will significantly improve your daily experience of Vision Pro.
Apple says Vision Pro will also start saving eye and hand configuration for guests for 30 days. Sharing Vision Pro with anyone was a bit of a challenge because every time you turn it on in guest mode, they have to go through the setup all over again. This made it hard for me to get my partner to try the headset. (I’m sure I’m not the only one who has experienced this). I would prefer to be able to set up completely separate profiles, but this is at least a step in that direction.
Sports fans will be content to know that Apple is also adding multi-view streaming across five screens to the Apple TV app, something the company added to its Apple TV streaming box last year. You’ll be able to stream content via AirPlay to the Vision Pro from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac – which, depending on how well it works, could come in handy if you want to play a game on a working Vision Pro on a Mac, but not on the headset.
Finally, when you come across a video on the Internet, you will be able to split it into a free-running video player – something Apple had to do because neither YouTube nor Netflix made an app for the Vision Pro. Users may still prefer dedicated third-party apps for services like Juno or Supercut, but the ability to watch other videos online this way will be nice.
All of these details appeared somewhere in Apple’s press materials. But there’s even more to be found in the release notes for the first developer beta of VisionOS 2 (which, by the way, is already available). Here is a brief list of additional features that the manufacturer says will be on the way:
Apple may not have made it all the way to my wish list during the WWDC keynote, but I was surprised by how specific it was about things I want from VisionOS, like the ability to bring up the home screen with a single gesture. And honestly, there was one huge crowd-pleaser that really drew attention yesterday: a giant widescreen virtual display that surrounds your head. As an avid tri-monitor user, I couldn’t be happier with this news.