(Credit: Apple/PCMag)
Apple today teased the first update for its mixed-reality headset, visionOS 2, which includes AI-powered spatial photos and videos for the Vision Pro to give them a more immersive feel.
As part of its WWDC presentation, Apple also unveiled a special "spatial" lens for Canon cameras designed to capture moments viewable on the Vision Pro, as well as a partnership with cinema camera company Blackmagic Design.
AI-Powered Spatial Photos and Videos
Want your 2D images, movies, and video clips to feel more...3D? During its WWDC keynote, Apple emphasized the Vision Pro's ability to create "spatial" photos and videos that simulate a 3D environment. With visionOS 2, Vision Pro users will get "a powerful way to transform photos into 3D memories" that feel more immersive than your standard image or video clip. (See it in action in the video below.)
Apple also previewed more intuitive hand gestures; hold your hand up and tap to open home view, flip your hand over to bring up time and battery level, or tap again to open Control Center.
Later this year, Mac Virtual Display will support a higher display resolution and size; expand it to an ultrawide display that wraps around you, which Apple says is equivalent to two 4K monitors side-by-side. An updated Travel Mode, meanwhile, will add train support.
Apple also promises enhancements to Mindfulness, Safari, and the Apple TV app, as well as support for pairing the Magic Mouse with a Vision Pro.
A Special Canon Lens and a Blackmagic Collab
Apple has worked with Canon on a Vision Pro-optimized lens for the Canon EOS R7, whose camera body typically costs around $1,500. Pricing hasn't yet been released for the new lens, but it looks different from a traditional camera lens, with two eye-like shapes mimicking the Vision Pro's eyesight. But it's designed to help capture more "spatial" moments for the headset.
Apple's WWDC keynote also briefly mentioned a new collaboration with the cinema camera and software company Blackmagic Design, which makes the video color and editing app DaVinci Resolve, but neither company has shared further details about the partnership just yet. [Update: Here's more info.]
Wider Availability for the Vision Pro
Apple confirmed that the Vision Pro headset will be available in more countries outside of the US. Preorders in China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore begin on June 13 before an official launch on July 28.
The Vision Pro is also getting a limited European rollout. The headset will open for preorders in France, Germany, and the UK on June 28, and will begin appearing in stores July 12. Apple fans in Australia and Canada will also see preorders open on June 28, followed by a July 12 launch.
visionOS 2 Release Timeline
It's coming, but you'll have to wait. Apple Vision Pro headsets will continue to come with visionOS 1.2 software until this fall, when visionOS 2 rolls out as a free upgrade.
By then, there may be even more options for Vision Pro apps. At WWDC, Apple confirmed there are now over 250 Apple Arcade games for the Vision Pro, 2,000 dedicated Vision Pro apps, and over 1.5 million iOS and iPadOS apps that are compatible with the $3,500 headset.