Subj : The Vision Pro's app problems could soon be over, though some hur To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Thu Feb 01 2024 16:30:05 The Vision Pro's app problems could soon be over, though some hurdles remain Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2024 16:17:26 +0000 Description: 600 new Vision Pro apps and Unity development tools could help to end the Apple headset's app problem. FULL STORY ====================================================================== Reviewers have got their hands on the Apple Vision Pro, and while the displays and specs have impressed so far, a common theme of the sites featured in our Apple Vision Pro review roundup is that the software lacks some luster. Thats not to say it isnt a blast to watch a 3D movie on a massive virtual screen . But a lot of the apps youre using or just ported from iPadOS, focus on watching something, using a game controller to enjoy a flat game, or doing work with a Mac and keyboard. There are very few that let you get properly hands-on with virtual objects the sorts of experiences people think of when they think of VR and AR software from the Quest or Steam platforms. But the Vision Pro's app problem might soon be over. Carrot Weather is one of the new Vision Pro apps (Image credit: Grailr) For a start, Apple has said over 600 new apps are being released for the Vision Pro. This is quite a lot more than the 230-odd estimate given by Bloombergs Mark Gurman on Twitter in late January who often has solid insider knowledge of Apples systems. That said, beyond Fruit Ninja AR, Apple still has yet to show off many AR apps that involve much interaction. Many of those shown in its blog post still look like youre mostly interacting with massive floating windows or viewing 3D objects rather than getting super hands-on. Well have to wait and see whats what when the software and Vision Pro hardware are released for the public on February 2nd (tomorrow at the time of writing). Still some hurdles to jump (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff) Whats perhaps more interesting is the announcement that Unity has launched the 1.0 version of its developer tools to create Vision Pro software. In the blog post, it said that after spending time in beta the tools are now available to all Unity Pro, Enterprise, and Industry subscribers. The big upshot of this for people using Vision Pro is its now easier for Unity developers to create and port their apps to the Apple headset so be on the lookout for a wave of new Unity apps heading to the Apple system in the coming months following the likes of LEGO Builders Journey and Tripp (with the team behind these titles having had access to the Unity beta for Vision Pro development). Epic Games the team behind Unreal Engine, a popular Unity competitor hasnt made clear when its tools will also offer Vision Pro development support if theyll even come at all. The last we heard it was exploring the possibility back in September 2023. AR game Lego Bricktales on the Meta Quest 3 (Image credit: Meta) Unfortunately, there are still some big hurdles to Vision Pro app development that may cause problems in getting long-term support from a wide pool of app creators. The first is that visionOS app development even through Unity requires access to Mac computers running on Apple silicon. This wont be a problem for every development team, but for software makers who mostly use non-Mac hardware for development buying all-new computers would be a serious investment in a brand-new platform. Another problem is the Vision Pros lack of controllers. Apples dedication to only using hand-tracking certainly makes the device feel futuristic but many app developers have told us it makes porting existing VR and AR software to the system a bit of a challenge. Thats because most VR headsets use nearly identical controllers, so software is designed to work with these standardized handsets in mind. To create a Vision Pro app theyd have to rethink the whole way players interact with the virtual world, which might mean effectively starting from scratch. Whats more, Apple has a unique version of hand tracking that also relies on eye-tracking something most other headsets dont have. So even if an app already has a hand-tracking mode in place there are still some hurdles to jump to accommodate the control scheme. Over time developers should overcome these and other hurdles, but we'll have to wait and see how much they affect the availability of Apple Vision Pro software in the near and long-term future. You may also like Vision Pro 8 reasons to buy Apple's next-gen mixed-reality headset and some reasons to skip it Worried about what apps will actually come with the Vision Pro? Here's what Apple has planned Vision Pro may have an app problem, with developers possibly unwilling to commit to Apple's 'revolutionary' new platform ====================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/virtual-reality-augmented-reality/the-visi on-pros-app-problems-could-soon-be-over-though-some-hurdles-remain --- Mystic BBS v1.12 A47 (Linux/64) * Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100) .