Before this week’s massive update on visionOS 26, a quick plea to readers!
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visionOS 26 hands-on — features highlight (source)
During one visionOS 26 demo, I was able to play around with the new spatial widgets, which I think have huge implications for a pair of Apple smart glasses.
I opened the new Widgets app in visionOS and then placed a clock on the wall I was staring at, and I could adjust the color and width of the frame. But with another tap I could then make it appear like that widget was literally sunken into the wall, adding an almost freaky sense of depth.
visionOS 26 improved personas demo’d by Apple SVP (source)
All the Vision Pro and visionOS 26 features you may have missed during WWDC 2025 (source)
In Photos, you can also create 3D spatial scenes from 2D photos. You can do the same with some websites and apps with spatial browsing. Websites will be able to make experiences specifically for Vision Pro users, which could be incredibly useful for shopping in particular. Web developers can now embed 3D objects on their pages, letting the user "pull them" into their space. In a video preview shown at WWDC, a user pulls a piece of furniture out of Safari and places it directly into their space.
visionOS 26 sets the stage for killer smart glasses (source)
We called the Apple Vision Pro a revolution in progress in our review, but visionOS 26 proved the $3,500 headset is a warm-up for the real revolution.
Don’t get me wrong, the new features announced at WWDC 2025 look (mostly) great — jury’s still out on the uncanny valley of Personas — but from widgets you can anchor around your room and spatial browsing giving you a 3D web browser experience in Safari look so cool.
But with each new feature announced, I came to a realization: visionOS 26 is built for glasses, not goggles. These would make for a breakthrough pair of smart glasses.
Pickle Pro Is The First Announced Apple Vision Pro Game To Use PS VR2 Controllers (source)
Resolution Games is a veteran XR studio behind dozens of top titles across all major headsets. Apple contracted the studio to build Game Room for Vision Pro's launch and the Gears & Goo tower defense game that released earlier this year, both on its Apple Arcade subscription service. Resolution has also ported its flagship cross-platform title Demeo to visionOS.
The studio's next Vision Pro game is called Pickle Pro, and it's the first visionOS title to announce support for PS VR2 Sense controllers.
Resolution says Pickle Pro is "the ultimate pickleball training and competition app", with "hyper-real physics".
visionOS 26 adds distance/parallax effects to iMessage backgrounds (source)
I love how the new iMessage backgrounds, including custom photo ones, add a bunch of distance/parallax behind the text bubbles So it looks like you're looking into a portal whenever you're messaging friends. The effect looks way better in headset than what I can show here in 2D
visionOS 26 supports phone call forwarding from iPhone! (source)
visionOS 26 supports relaying calls from iPhone, so a user can now answer phone calls directly from Apple Vision Pro, or start a call from People View by selecting a contact’s phone number or clicking on a phone number in a web page.
Adam Savage Reacts to Apple Vision Pro's New Personas!
New in visionOS 26, breakthrough for gaming controllers (source)
Widgets are persisted after reboot and shown when entering room in visionOS 26 (source)
When you enter the room that you set up your widgets in after a reboot
Much requested feature in visionOS 26 - auto unlock iPhone (source)
This was probably the most requested feature I saw around all the Vision Pro communities
visionOS 26 demo to control AC by looking at it (source)
Now that visionOS supports persisting windows/widgets across app launches, I just put together this HomeKit app that allows me to control my AC directly by looking at it!
90 Hz hand tracking makes the window movement so much more smooth This video is not sped up, by the way
Phones also have breakthrough in the VR environments in visionOS 26 (source)
Well, this wasn’t in the visionOS 26 patch notes iPhones also have breakthrough in the VR environments
With VisionOS 26 UVC-Video now works without Enterprise license (source)
UVC-Video is connecting an usb-video device via the usb-c-port and show the content on the screen (Webcam and HDMI Capture card). It‘s availabe on IPadOS for years and is a great way to use the IPad OLED Screen as a monitor for gaming without the latency of streaming.
With Vision Pro you need the Vision Pro Developer Strap (300$ ) and you can only order it if you have an active Apple Developer Subscription (99$).
With VisionOS 2.2 Apple added support for UVC-Video in VisionOS but put it behind an Enterprise license and entitlement.
New "Spatial Browsing" mode for Safari added in visionOS 26 (source)
Hand overlay in visionOS 26 when environment is dark (source)
The spooky ghost hands that appear when you turn off the lights in visionOS 26
visionOS 26 + Moon Player = Instant Movie Magic (source)
visionOS 26 + Moon Player = Instant Movie Magic!
Tap the poster on your wall, and you're instantly in your immersive private cinema! 🍿
Don’t forget you benefit from tactile feedback in visionOS 26 (source)
When you snap overlays to walls, don’t forget you benefit from tactile feedback if the computer vision is good enough
macOS Spatial Rendering For Vision Pro Is Apple's Take On PC VR (source)
macOS 26 will let apps render and stream immersive experiences to Apple Vision Pro, essentially Apple's take on PC VR.
"With macOS spatial rendering, use the power of your Mac to render and stream immersive content directly to Vision Pro."
The open-source tool ALVR already lets Apple Vision Pro owners use it as a SteamVR headset, but SteamVR doesn't support macOS, having dropped support for the platform in 2020.
As well as supporting the company's own desktop operating system, Apple's macOS spatial rendering is deeply integrated into macOS 26 and visionOS 26.
Native Support for Apple Vision Pro Coming to Insta360 and GoPro Action Cameras (source)
The crux of the news here is that Apple has revealed that the company is developing a new type of QuickTime file which will be called an APMP (Apple Projected Media Profile) that will include new metadata about lenses and the type of non-traditional cameras used which would be helpful info when stitching together for 360-degree and wide field of view video.
Since there aren’t many cameras that can offer anything close to 360-degree video these days, Apple is focusing on these partnerships with action camera manufacturers like GoPro and Insta360 that have products like the Insta360 X5 and the GoPro Max.
These wide-angle action cameras will soon be more capable than ever before to record footage to be played back the Apple Vision Pro as part of this new push for immersive storytelling.
ImmersiveSpaces can now be used within system environment (source)
In VisionOS 26, ImmersiveSpaces can now be used within system environments.
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Great update, I appreciate how thorough it was. Even more excited about visionOS 26 now, thanks!