10 VisionOS features I’d like to see Apple announce at WWDC this week
The Apple Vision Pro has been available since February. While this is an impressive device, it’s also a bit difficult and frustrating to use. Some of that is inevitable in the first product in a new category, like the device’s weight and rather small field of view. But many annoyances could be resolved in the next version of VisionOS.
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Apple traditionally announces new operating system features at WWDC this week and releases them alongside its new products in the fall. While it’s hard for me to believe that the new Vision Pro will launch so soon, it’s almost predictable that we’ll see a significant update to the device’s operating system.
Here are my 10 suggestions for what I’d like to see in VisionOS 2.0.
1. Mouse support
I’ve shown it before How to connect touchpad and keyboard to Vision Pro, but note that there is no mouse support. The trackpad is great, but many of us prefer to use a mouse.
I’d like to see Apple introduce full mouse support for the Vision Pro. And, Apple, please don’t limit it to the not-so-magical Mouse or Magic Mouse 2. Since Apple is still offering a suboptimal mouse design from 2009 that was only slightly updated in 2015, many users have switched to better mouse models, e.g. Logitech devices.
2. Better Bluetooth support for non-Apple devices
You can Easily pair your AirPods with Vision Pro. But when I tried to pair a cheap set of non-Apple Bluetooth headphones with the Vision Pro, I couldn’t get it to work. However, those headphones worked with my iPhone and iPad, so they were good enough.
But Apple said that “Apple Vision Pro compatibility with third-party Bluetooth devices and accessories is not guaranteed.” This needs to change, and I hope Apple addresses the issue in VisionOS 2.0.
3. Switch to the keyboard
Working in any virtual environment (I prefer Mount Hood) is great, but immersive environments obscure my keyboard. The Digital Crown allows users to open a side view of the virtual space but the center part remains blocked.
I’d like to be able to create an opening through that allows me to see the keyboard and mouse (and I wouldn’t mind it allowing me to see my coffee cup) while in cyberspace. Ideally, the AI would be smart enough to recognize my keyboard (even if it wasn’t Apple-branded), but a reasonable first step would just be to let users define transition zones by hand in Vision Pro.
4. Media restrictions are less draconian
Apple Vision Pro does not allow any screenshots of entertainment media to be taken. Stage. Do I want to show you a screenshot of an impressive rhino sanctuary or an immersive Parkour video? Correct. I can? Are not. No screenshots, no video. I also cannot mirror any video to the Apple TV from the Vision Pro.
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That prevents the use of Vision Pro’s mirror-to-Apple TV feature from helping a person try Vision Pro for the first time, because as soon as they access an entertainment app, they won’t be able to see anything. whatever they’re doing. It also prevents family members from watching Apple TV+ together, one person on Vision Pro and the others on Apple TV.
Look, I understand the whole piracy thing. But limiting it to even one screenshot is overkill. Apple, please fix this. It becomes much more difficult to help you sell your products. Turning off the ability to mirror any Apple TV+ content from the Vision Pro to the Apple TV is a pain. For example, I subscribe to the Apple One Premier plan, which allows us to use Family Sharing to share with up to five people. So why did Apple block this ability on Vision Pro?
5. More native space apps
Apple still sends Books, Calendar, Clock, Home, Maps, Podcasts, Reminders, Shortcuts, Archives, and Voice Memos in the Compatibility Mode folder. While some of these, like Podcasts, won’t benefit much from a space transformation, others will. For example, maps will be the obvious beneficiary of a spatial upgrade, as the app itself will attempt to present 3D projections on a 2D screen.
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But I also think it would be cool to have some clock that you could actually put in mixed reality or a calendar that you could hang on the wall. And where could Books go if the already great interactive features in Books could be expanded into a fully 3D world? Oh, the stories we can tell and retell!
6. More environments and third-party environments
Apple currently only allows certain fully immersive environments. While the surfaces of the moon and Mount Hood are beautiful enough, they get boring after a while. My immersive environment on Task 3 is an old mining town. Mission 3 offers a variety of immersive environments, including both interior and exterior locations.
I’d like to see more immersive environments for Vision Pro. There is a long category of videos on YouTube called “air videos”. They include cozy animated scenes with some background music like This peaceful cafe. How great would it be to arrange virtual work in a cafe like this, relax and work productively? I can see a great app market for well-designed third-party ambient environments. Heck, I’ll have to pay a few bucks to work at some charming coffee shop!
7. Larger play space boundaries
Currently Apple is limiting total physical play space for virtual experiences up to the 1.5 meter boundary around the original position of the wearer’s head. As one gets closer to the limits of that boundary, the virtual world recedes and transmission through the medium is triggered.
For many people, that 5-foot boundary is enough. My space doesn’t even come close to that. But many people can use the Vision Pro in a much larger physical space, so providing such a hard limit is pointless.
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There is more flexibility in Task 3. Use Optional settings are quite dangerous,Task 3 allows complete boundary removal. A safer approach is What does this YouTuber do? to allow his entire apartment to be included in his Mission 3 play space.
Maybe, with VisionOS 2.0, Apple will allow some flexibility in the size of play space boundaries.
8. VR controller support
While I’m not saying the Quest experience beats the Apple Vision Pro experience, some things just work better on it Task 3. The key to this is the fact that the Quest 3 has a controller and the Vision Pro relies entirely on hand gestures. It’s time for Vision Pro to add controller support.
I will give you an example. I really like this game Confusing locations in mission 3. But game on Vision Pro is much more limited because hand gestures on the Vision Pro don’t provide the level of control over 3D models that the Quest 3 allows.
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This situation has also been clearly seen in Marvel What…If? profound experience I just discovered. I found that the hand gestures, while interesting, had some lag. Adam Savage’s Tested has the same problem.
It’s very possible that Apple will one day introduce its own controller, if only to satisfy some of the special needs of large-scale businesses. But since Meta added support for Apple’s spatial videos to the Quest 3, it seems only fair that Apple add support for the Quest controller. I haven’t found a separate Quest 3 controller yet, but because the Quest 2 is only $199people can buy it and get a Quest 2 controller. Hey, at $199, it’s the price of a spare Vision Pro battery or Vision Pro carrying case.
9. Better and more accurate hand and eye tracking
Although many reviewers have described the Vision Pro’s eye- and hand-tracking capabilities as “magical,” I found eye-tracking so difficult that I had to do the same replace it with wrist tracking with accessibility mode. As I mentioned above, some hand tracking lag seemed to disrupt gameplay, and I noticed that the Vision Pro had difficulty recognizing hand tracking at the edges or bottom of the display.
This needs to be improved and I hope to see an upgrade in VisionOS 2.0.
10. Seek my support
It’s strange but there’s no Find My app for the Apple Vision Pro. You can’t even download it. It’s just not there. Now, give it out the importance of being able to use AirPods with Vision Pro When around family members, I think Find My (which regularly helps me find this or that of my lost AirPods) will be a necessity. But it’s not available.
Even more interesting would be a live display version of Find My, which places an arrow in your field of view as you search for what’s missing.
Bonus: Better personality
Oh, those things are scary. We need to get them out of the uncanny valley. ‘Nuff said.
Looking forward to VisionOS 2.0
How about you? Have you been using Vision Pro yet? What do you want to see in VisionOS 2.0? Let us know in the comments below.
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