Apple Releases Its First visionOS Software Development Kit

Apple today announced the availability of its visionOS Software Development Kit (SDK), which lets developers create apps for the Vision Pro headset.

“Apple Vision Pro redefines what’s possible on a computing platform,” Apple vice president Susan Prescott said. “Developers can get started building visionOS apps using the powerful frameworks they already know, and take their development even further with new innovative tools and technologies like Reality Composer Pro, to design all-new experiences for their users. By taking advantage of the space around the user, spatial computing unlocks new opportunities for our developers, and enables them to imagine new ways to help their users connect, be productive, and enjoy new types of entertainment. We can’t wait to see what our developer community dreams up.”

Apps for the Vision Pro can include windows that have depth and can display content in 3D, volumes, which create experiences that are viewable from any angle, and spaces, which can fully immerse a user in a 3D environment. The visionOS SDK requires a Mac, obviously, and uses the same basic tools and technologies that Apple-based developers use to create apps for the company’s other platforms, such as Xcode, SwiftUI, RealityKit, ARKit, and TestFlight. But it also provides new tools, like Reality Composer Pro for previewing and preparing 3D models, animations, images, and sounds, and there is a new visionOS simulator for exploring and testing room layouts and lighting conditions.

Next month, Apple will also provide developers with tools that will help them port 3D apps and games based on Unity to Vision Pro.

The visionOS SDK is available now to Apple Developer Program members on the Apple Developer webdsite. You can also learn more on the visionOS developer website.