One of the biggest pieces of Vision Pro news from today’s WWDC is that the headset will be getting support for PSVR 2 motion controllers and a Logitech motion stylus with the release of visionOS 26. Now we’re learning more of the details, including the fact that developers will be able to publish Vision Pro apps that ‘require’ motion controllers, and those which make them ‘optional’. The change is a surprising shift compared to the hand-tracking only approach that Apple launched the headset with.

In a recorded developer session released at WWDC 2025, Apple went into more detail about upcoming support for motion controllers on VisionOS 26.

One of the interesting things we learned is that developers will be able to publish Vision Pro apps with an ‘optional’ or ‘required’ motion controller designation. Developers will make this choice, and it will show up in the App Store so users know what to expect.

This of course opens the door to Vision Pro content which works exclusively with motion controllers. While it would be nice if hand-tracking was supported in every single app, the reality is that most existing VR games (ie: on platforms like Quest and PC VR) are built specifically for motion controllers, and would need to be significantly redesigned to support hand-tracking.

In VisionOS 26, Apple will allow developers to publish Vision Pro apps which ‘require’ motion controllers, meaning developers will be able to publish their existing VR content on Vision Pro with significantly less effort than if hand-tracking was required.

When building apps for motion controllers on Vision Pro, developers will be able to choose between two different tracking modes: Predicted and Continuous.

The Predicted mode will offer the lowest apparent latency by estimating where the controller will end up in future frames based on its present movement. This mode will likely be best for games with lots of player motion.

The Continuous mode will offer the highest precision by not estimating future position. This will prevent ‘overshoot’ when a user suddenly changes the direction of the motion controller. However, this will come at the cost of higher apparent latency. This mode will likely be best for apps that want optimal precision, like art and productivity.

Despite talking about these two tracking modes, as far as we know, Apple has yet to share any specific info on how much latency developers can expect when using motion controllers on Vision Pro.

For more on VisionOS 26, check out our overview of major changes here.

VisionOS 26 is Apple’s next major update to Vision Pro. Expected to be released to the public later this year, Apple says developers will be able to start testing the new version starting today. The update adds some major changes, including support for PSVR 2 motion controllers and a spatial stylus from Logitech.

Apple previewed visionOS 26 today during WWDC 2025. The new version technically follows VisionOS 2, but adopts the company’s new version naming scheme which appends the upcoming year to the software name, rather than a version number—hence VisionOS 26 (which will be publicly released in time for 2026).

The new software update for Vision Pro brings some major changes and enhancements.

Motion Controllers & Gamepad ‘Breakthrough’

View post on imgur.com

Since the day Vision Pro was announced (and Apple confirmed it would not ship with motion controllers), developers of existing XR content have been asking for motion controllers for more precise and immersive control of virtual content.

Now that wish is finally coming true. Rather than making its own motion controllers though, Apple is partnering with Sony to add support for PSVR 2 Sense controllers on Vision Pro in VisionOS 26.

Interestingly, Vision Pro is also getting official support for a new Logitech Muse motion stylus, which looks similar to the existing Logitech MX Ink (which is compatible with Quest).

Since day one, Vision Pro has supported gamepads like Xbox and PlayStation controllers for playing flatscreen content. Now VisionOS 26 is adding ‘breakthrough’ for gamepads, which means users will be able to see the controller in their hands even when their view is otherwise occluded by a fully virtual scene. This is similar to the way the headset allows both people and keyboards to ‘breakthrough’ the virtual view so users can talk to people in the room with them and type more easily.

Anchored Widgets

View post on imgur.com

VisionOS 26 adds support for widgets. Similar to widgets on other Apple devices, they are small applets that provide glanceable information. On Vision Pro, however, users will be able to anchor them around their home and they will purportedly always stay in place any time you put on the headset. This includes being able to mount them to walls.

Users could previously place app windows or spatial content around their home, which would stay in place. However, those windows would be rearranged any time the user recentered their headset. Widgets, on the other hand, should always stay where they’re placed.

From what we understand, widgets on VisionOS 26 will support both custom-made widgets for the platform (including panoramas and spatial photos), as well as existing widgets built for iOS and iPadOS.

Persona Visual Upgrades

View post on imgur.com

Apple’s ‘Persona’ avatars are based on a scan of the user’s head which is taken from the headset itself. They are already the most lifelike real-time avatars available in a headset, but Apple is giving them an impressive visual upgrade in VisionOS 26.

The new Persona update will improve the appearance of skin, hair, and eyelashes, according to Apple, greatly reducing the ‘ghostly’ appearance of the current version of avatars.

Co-located Social Experiences

View post on imgur.com

In VisionOS 26, Apple is making it easy for developers to build co-located experiences. That means two Vision Pro users in the same physical space can share a synchronized experience where virtual content appears in the same physical location for both users.

With SharePlay and FaceTime, remote users can also join these experiences, allowing a combination of physically co-located and remote participants.

Spatial Photos Go Volumetric

View post on imgur.com

Spatial photos are getting… more spatial in VisionOS 26. While the prior version allows users to turn their 2D photos into 3D photos (or what Apple calls ‘spatial photos’), this adds stereoscopic depth, but not parallax. That means if you lean left or right, the image just moves with you, instead of making it appear like you can look around objects in the scene.

In VisionOS 26, the spatial conversion will now attempt to add real volume to the photo, offering both stereo depth and parallax. Apple is calling this a ‘spatial scene’, to indicate the addition of parallax.

Given that the photo was originally captured in 2D, the conversion will have to make guesses about what the scene should look like from different angles. While there will certainly be limitations to those guesses, we’ve been really impressed with Apple’s first attempt at automatic conversion of 2D photos to spatial photos, so we’ll be interested to see how well the process works for spatial scenes.

Spatial Browsing Mode in Safari

View post on imgur.com

Apple says that a new ‘Spatial Browsing’ mode is coming to Safari in VisionOS 26. This will purportedly work on any webpage that can normally work with Safari’s existing ‘Reader’ view.

In addition to converting the page’s text for easier reading, the Spatial Browsing view will turn images on the page into ‘spatial scenes’ (volumetric photos) as covered above. Apple hopes this will make web browsing feel more immersive.

Web developers will also be able to define an immersive background for their website, so Vision Pro users can have a relevant immersive scene that appears around them when browsing a specific webpage.

Native Playback of More Immersive Video Formats

View post on imgur.com

While Vision Pro has long supported spatial (3D) video playback, and Apple Immersive Video (Apple’s own wide field-of-view immersive video format), VisionOS 26 will support other common immersive video formats.

That includes 180°, 360°, and, as we understand it, arbitrary wide field-of-view video content, either monoscopic or stereoscopic.

Apple says this will mean wide field-of-view footage from popular action cams like GoPro and Insta360 will play seamlessly on Vision Pro.

PHOTO of formats

Developers will also be able to play all supported formats in their apps, or stream them from the web.

Improved Hand-tracking

Apple says that hand-tracking on VisionOS 26 will be able to run up to 90Hz which should result in a noticeable reduction in latency, compared to the 60Hz tracking of the current VisionOS 2.

There’s lots of smaller tweaks and improvements coming to VisionOS 26, but these are the biggest of the bunch.

VisionOS 26 is available starting today as a developer beta. Apple has not yet said it the public beta and full release will come alongside the public betas and release for its other platforms like iOS and macOS.

At WWDC today, Apple announced the headlining features of visionOS 26, its next big OS release for Vision Pro. Among them is a new revamped spatial photos feature that ought to make them even more immersive.

Vision Pro launched with the ability to view spatial photos, captured either with the headset itself or with iPhone 16, 15 Pro and Pro Max. These spatial photos created a sense of depth and dimensionality by combining stereo capture and applying depth mapping to the image.

Now, Apple says it’s applied a new generative AI algorithm to create “spatial scenes with multiple perspectives, letting users feel like they can lean in and look around,” essentially ‘guessing’ at details not actually captured on camera.

With visionOS 26, Vision Pro users will be able to view spatial scenes in the Photos app, Spatial Gallery app, and Safari. The company says developers will also be able to use the Spatial Scene API to add the feature into their apps.

To show off the new AI-assisted spatial photos feature, real-estate marketplace Zillow says it’s adopting Spatial Scene API in the Zillow Immersive app for Vision Pro, which lets users to see spatial images of homes and apartments.

Apple’s visionOS 26 is slated to arrive sometime later this year, although the company says testing is already underway.

Apple’s next big Vision Pro update, coming in visionOS 26 later this year, is adding the ability for developers to create co-located AR experiences so users can interact with the same app, 3D model, and more.

There probably aren’t a lot of friends and families out there that have one Vision Pro between them, let alone two, making the feature drop most likely something enterprise can get behind, as well as the most ‘pro’ of prosumers.

It’s not just a co-location update though, which would mean you only interact locally. Apple says the upcoming visionOS 26 feature will let users do everything from watch the latest blockbuster movie in 3D and play a spatial game together, but also collaborate with coworkers from near or far.

As Apple is wont to do, it’s also integrating the feature with FaceTime, so you can add users from across the globe. FaceTime has had Personas since Vision Pro was released in early 2024, letting users interact using a lifelike avatar across all of the company’s ecosystem of devices.

To boot, Apple showed off the feature with Dassault Systèmes, the engineering and 3D design company, which is using its own 3DLive app to connect remote colleagues and let them visualize 3D designs in AR (seen above).

Apple’s biggest competitor Meta has allowed developers to create co-located apps for consumers since late 2024, when the company released its Horizon OS v71 update, which enabled local multiplayer setups through nearby headset discovery.

This story is breaking, as we’re still learning about the feature. We’re currently at WWDC, so check back for more on all things Vision Pro.

Apple today announced at WWDC that Vision Pro is getting spatialized Widgets, coming along when visionOS 26 drops later this year.

On basically all of Apple’s devices, Widgets are designed to offer up personalized and useful info at a glance.

Now Apple says Vision Pro is also getting spatial Widgets too, which will let you place a variety of these mini-apps around your house which reappear every time you put on Vision Pro.

Apple says Widgets in visionOS 26 are “customizable, with a variety of options for frame width, color, and depth. Beautiful new widgets — including Clock, Weather, Music, and Photos — all offer unique interactions and experiences.”

Essentially, you’ll be able to decorate you space with things like spatial photos, clocks with distinctive face designs, a calendar with your events, and also quick access to music playlists and songs so you can, say, keep your favorite track in a specific part of your room.

Notably, Apple says developers will be able to create their own widgets using WidgetKit. There’s no word on exactly when visionOS 26 releases, although the company says we can expect it sometime later this year.

This story is breaking. We’re currently at WWDC today, and will report back when we learn more about all things Vision Pro.

Apple ‘Personas’ on Vision Pro are already the most likelife real-time avatars you can find on any headset today, but in the next version of visionOS, they’re taking another step forward.

Apple today announced that its Persona avatars for Vision Pro will get a major visual upgrade with the launch of visionOS 26, due out later this year.

Personas on Vision Pro are generated on-device after users take a short scan of their face using the headset. Once generated, the avatar is used for social experiences like FaceTime.

Currently, they’re the most lifelike real-time avatars available on any headset today. Although they impressively capture subtle motion from the user, they have always felt somewhat blurry or ghostly.

VisionOS 26 promises a big visual update that will greatly reduce that ghostly look, and present a more complete view of the user’s head, including a “full side profile view.” Apple is also promising more realistic hair and lashes, and more than 1,000 variations of glasses, so glasses-wearers can find something that looks just right.

View post on imgur.com

Although visionOS 26 will be available as a developer beta starting today, it isn’t yet clear if the Personas upgrade will be available in the first version, or roll out in later versions of the beta.

Beyond the visual upgrade to Personas, visionOS 26 will also make improvements to how social experiences work on the headset. New developer tools will allow for the creation of co-located virtual experiences; meaning two headset users in the same physical space will be able to see a shared virtual experience that’s visually anchored in the same space for both. That same system will allow for remote participants to join as Persona avatars, making for a mixture of in-person headset users and remote participants in the same virtual experience.

Apple announced visionOS 26 today, its new naming scheme for the next big update coming to Vision Pro later this year. Among Vision Pro’s list of new features comes something we’ve been waiting for: actual support for VR input devices, including motion controllers and a spatially-tracked stylus.

In 2023, Apple said it had no plans to make or support VR controllers on Vision Pro, but that’s about to change.

Previous rumors alleged Apple was getting ready to support PSVR 2’s motion controllers, but now it’s official: visionOS 26 will bring PSVR 2 Sense Controller so developers can start building (or more likely porting) VR games to the platform.

This should open up more avenues to bringing a lot of the games that didn’t—or rather, couldn’t reasonably—support hand-tracking-only interactions.

While that’s mostly for gamers, Apple also announced it will support Logitech Muse, a new spatial input device built for Vision Pro that enables “precise input and new ways to interact with collaboration apps like Spatial Analogue.”

This story is breaking. We’re learning more about Logitech Muse and the specifics around PSVR 2 Sense Controller support. We’re currently at WWDC 2025 today, so stay tuned for all things Vision Pro.