The rumors are true: Apple confirmed today that the Vision Pro will get Apple Intelligence features in April with the arrival of visionOS 2.4. A developer beta is also rolling out today for the less patient. As we've seen on other devices, Apple is starting out the Vision Pro's AI rollout with basic features. Those include Writing Tools, which can help you summarize, rewrite and proofread text, as well as generate text with ChatGPT; Image Playground for creating AI imagery; and Genmoji for building custom AI generated emojis and stickers.
It really was only a matter of when Apple would bring Apple Intelligence to the Vision Pro. It's available on current Macs running the M1 chip, so the spatial headset's M2 hardware is clearly more than capable. Apple Intelligence on VP only supports English for now, but the company says more languages and AI features will be coming throughout the year. As for other minor Apple Intelligence capabilities, the Vision Pro will also be getting Priority Notifications and summaries, Smart Reply in Mail and Messages, and the ability to create Memory Movies in Photos.
Arguably more useful to Vision Pro users, Apple is also introducing several apps and tweaks to make the headset a bit more useful. There's a new Spatial Gallery app exclusive to Vision Pro that will highlight spatial videos, photos and panoramas from Apple. Think of it as another way to enjoy the VP's immersive capabilities without waiting for another big budget Immersive Video to drop. The company says the Spatial Galllery app will include "stories and experiences" from brands like Red Bull (which is well known for making 360-degree videos for VR), as well as behind the scenes material from Apple shows like Severance and Shrinking. (Let's hope we can actually sit inside the creepy Lumon offices.)
Additionally, a new Apple Vision Pro app for iPhone will let users better manage their headset experience. They can remotely add apps and games to the Vision Pro, as well as explore content to check out later. The app will also serve as a way to owners you know when new content drops for the Vision Pro (like a new "Arctic Surfing" episode of the Boundless Immersive series, which arrives today), as well as explore other videos for the headset, including a library of nearly 300 3D movies.
A standalone mobile Vision Pro app also makes sense, especially since Meta has offered something similar for its headsets for years. It's a sign that Apple is slowly making the Vision Pro platform a bit more consumer friendly, instead of just being a testbed for developers working in spatial computing. I don't think Apple will be lowering the Vision Pro's price anytime soon, but whenever we get a cheaper headset from the company, it'll be helpful to have content discovery features like the Spatial Gallery and the Vision Pro iPhone app.
And speaking of user-friendly tweaks, Apple is also improving Guest User mode with visionOS 2.4 Now headset owners will be able to start guest sessions with their iPhone and iPad, remotely choose which apps are available to guests wearing your Vision Pro, and also kick off AirPlay mirroring remotely. Previously, that process involved putting on the Vision Pro first, enabling Guest User mode, and then passing it to someone else to test out.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/apple-intelligence-is-headed-to-the-vision-pro-in-april-dev-beta-available-today-181014106.html?src=rss
