From Spatial Widgets to Realistic Personas: VisionOS 2 Updates Unveiled at WWDC

Apple has introduced significant updates to visionOS 2, the operating system powering its mixed reality headset, building upon the foundation of last year’s Apple Vision Pro. These enhancements, announced at WWDC, target both consumer and enterprise users with new features ranging from personalized spatial widgets and enhanced 2D image depth to more realistic Personas for video conferencing.

Personalized Spatial Widgets

visionOS 2 brings personalized spatial widgets that seamlessly integrate into the user’s physical space. These widgets offer at-a-glance information and can be customized in size, color, and depth to suit individual preferences. New widget options include a customizable clock, weather that adapts to the user’s location, quick-access music controls, and photo widgets that can transform into panoramas or spatial windows.

Enhanced Depth for 2D Images

The Photos app in visionOS 2 now utilizes an AI algorithm to add computational depth to 2D images. This creates multiple perspectives, making the images feel more lifelike and immersive. Spatial browsing in Safari has also been enhanced, with supported articles offering distraction-free reading and inline photos that come alive as you scroll. Developers can integrate spatial browsing into their own applications as well.

Realistic Personas

Apple’s Personas, AI avatars that represent users in video calls, have been significantly improved in visionOS 2. The new Personas use volumetric rendering and machine learning to create more realistic representations, enhancing details such as side profile views, hair, eyelashes, and skin complexion. These Personas are created on-device in a matter of seconds.

Shared Immersive Experiences

visionOS 2 enables users to share immersive experiences with others, such as watching movies or playing spatial games together. This capability extends to enterprise clients, allowing for collaborative visualization of 3D designs in applications like Dassault Systèmes’ 3DLive app.

Enterprise APIs and Tools

For enterprise users, visionOS 2 offers tools for easy device sharing among team members. The system securely saves eye and hand data, vision prescriptions, and accessibility settings to the user’s iPhone, facilitating quick and personalized access to shared devices. Apple is also adding more APIs to enable enterprises to create specialized visionOS apps. A new “for your eyes only” mode ensures that confidential materials are only visible to authorized users.

Apple has also announced the Logitech Muse, a spatial accessory designed for Vision Pro, which enables precise 3D drawing and collaboration.

Additional Updates

visionOS 2 incorporates more Apple Intelligence features, including support for additional languages such as French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish, as well as English in Australia, Canada, India, Singapore, and the U.K.

Users can now scroll using only their eyes and unlock their iPhone while wearing the Apple Vision Pro. Furthermore, visionOS supports relaying calls from an iPhone to the Apple Vision Pro.