Apple announces visionOS 26 with spatial widgets, including Clock, Weather, Music, and Photos, all-new Personas, Spatial scenes powered by AI, and more
visionOS 26 sets the stage for killer smart glasses Ben Lang / Road to VR : Vision Pro Will Allow ‘Optional’ and ‘Required’ Designations for Apps Using Motion Controllers David Heaney / UploadVR : visionOS 26 Brings PS VR2 Controllers, Photorealistic Personas, Spatial Scenes & More Scott Hayden / Road to VR : Vision Pro is Getting Official Support for PSVR 2 Motion Controllers and New Logitech Stylus X: @tyrielwood : another missed opportunity from Meta. widgets look amazing on Vision OS 26 [image] @benz145 : Apple has finally openly defined their immersive video terminology, though I don't quite understand the distinction between “3D” and “spatial” where the latter simply includes “metadata.” Anyone know what they mean by this? [image] Ben Geskin / @bengeskin : All-new Persona 😁 Looks significantly more realistic and higher quality #visionOS26 #WWDC25 [video] @benz145 : Great to see that Vision Pro is getting PSVR 2 controllers as an input option, but in an ideal world, Touch Pro would be the more elegant and Apple-like solution. Alas, Meta and Apple probably feel they are far too direct as competitors for that kind of collaboration. @cixliv : Today Apple showed off their new avatars. Basically what Meta has been pretending to be able to do for years. The Quest doesn't even have eye tracking guys. It's not happening until their headset in 2026. Today Apple actually shipped. [image] @cixliv : Meta lied about lower body tracking, they lied about their latest avatars, they lied about codec avatars. They lied about reducing investment in VR (no Quest coming out this year). All of these things I called out personally and got attacked for. Reality labs is a clown show. Aaron Zollo / @zollotech : I have been pretty harsh of Vision Pro, but the updated widgets and remembering where things are makes it much more usable. Excited to try visionOS 26 @nathievr : We're getting widgets on Apple Vision Pro before augments on Meta Quest. [video] David Heaney / @heaney555 : visionOS 26 is set to be an enormous upgrade! The upgraded Personas look to essentially be Apple shipping the promise of Meta's Codec Avatars research, and PS VR2 controller support will make visionOS a serious gaming platform. Tina Debove Nigro / @tina__nigro : That's a super solid update. Maybe now the naysayers will stop saying Vision's product line is doomed :) [image] @ijustine : New persona's in Vision Pro look so good! AND you can now watch content and interact with someone else wearing a VP NEXT TO YOU! #WWDC25 [video] @nathievr : Apple Vision Pro is finally getting support for PSVR2 controllers, can't wait to try it out! [video] Basic Apple Guy / @basicappleguy : Wait... so the Calendar and Reminders apps STILL haven't been converted into native apps on Vision Pro? #WWDC25 [image] Ben Geskin / @bengeskin : OMG this is really happening 👀 Shared experiences with Apple Vision Pro! #WWDC25 [image] Max Weinbach / @maxwinebach : 6DoF accessories now work I'm Vision Pro! Starts with this Logitech pen and Sony PSVR2 controllers [image] Max Weinbach / @maxwinebach : Widgets in Vision Pro and it remembers where you save your apps and widgets when you restart it [image] Max Weinbach / @maxwinebach : Personas on Vision Pro are WAY WAY BETTER Like, looks like a real person now [image] @nathievr : Personas on Apple Vision Pro are getting a big upgrade with better hair, eyelashes and skin tones to make them look way more natural. [video] @sadlyitsbradley : visionOS 26 supports native playback of 180-degree, 360-degree, and wide field-of-view content from Insta360, GoPro, and Canon cameras Developers can incorporate this new playback capability into their apps and websites [video] @sadlyitsbradley : visionOS 26 adds PlayStation VR2 Sense controller support Inludes 6DoF tracking, finger touch detection, and vibration support They will be sold separately. Which is ironically the first time they were offered by themselves [video] Neil Cybart / @neilcybart : Persistent spatial widgets and apps on visionOS. Yes, please. This is the future. Tina Debove Nigro / @tina__nigro : Finally! We can finally decorate our spaces with persistent widgets in visionOS 26! 🩵 This is something I and many others experimented since the first visionOS 1 betas! [video] Dylan / @dylanmcd8 : VISIONOS WIDGETS IS PERFECT YESSSSS Tina Debove Nigro / @tina__nigro : Seems like visionOS 26 brings pretty much everything I wanted. User Profiles saved on iPhone will be so useful when working with colleagues! Ben Geskin / @bengeskin : visionOS 26 made me fall in love with Apple Vision Pro all over again 🤍 #WWDC25 [image] Matt Swider / @mattswider : 🥽 PlayStation VR 2 Sense Controller support is coming to the Apple Vision Pro headset. Games for VisionOS 26 can use their full motion-tracking performance. Time to dust off my PSVR 2 controllers? [image] @sadlyitsbradley : Literally feeling like Christmas morning for me right now visionOS 26 W Mukul Sharma / @stufflistings : VisionOS 26 supports super wide FOV videos captures on GoPros, Insta360s, and Canons #WWDC2025 #WWDC25 #VisionOS26 [image] Phil Traut / @spatiallyme : A new, crazy good looking Persona, new Widgets and a system that stays in place even after a reboot, Local Shareplay, PSVR2 Support, an interactive Jupiter Environment, Spatial Scenes and Browsing and a ton of new enterprise features really made this a super packed visionOS 26 [image] Ben / @benhylak : wow, personas on visionOS look so much better new (left) vs. old (right) [video] Gene Munster / @munster_gene : Don't give up on visionOS. The updates today include the spatial web and remind me that the company is still investing in the device. My take: Apple is making the pitch to developers to build enterprise apps, and inviting gamers and creators to get on board. Robert Scoble / @scobleizer : The Holodeck. I'm excited too. M.G. Siegler / @mgsiegler : It sure feels like Apple is slowly pivoting Vision Pro more and more to enterprise (for now, for obvious reasons) but doesn't want to fully give up/say that... #wwdc25 @sadlyitsbradley : Gaussian Splats are now viewable directly in visionOS 26's Photos app, Spatial Gallery app, and Safari Apple calls these as “Spatial Scenes” and will have their own API for developers! (I am particularly VERY excited about this one) [video] Justin Ryan / @justinryanio : visionOS 26 is amazing! It's packed with spatial experiences, including widgets that become spatial and seamlessly integrate into a user's space, spatial scenes with lifelike depth, all-new Personas, and new ways to stay connected with Apple Vision Pro users near and far. [video] Neil Cybart / @neilcybart : Mike Rockwell: “The beginning of the spatial web.” 👀 Neil Cybart / @neilcybart : The visionOS26 feature roundup slide got the most audience applause out of any previous platform feature roundup slide. Marques Brownlee / @mkbhd : VisionOS 26 widgets are... kinda sick? Lets you put persistent windows/active items around the room that stay through a restart [image] Mark Gurman / @markgurman : Apple nailed it with Widgets on visionOS. @sadlyitsbradley : Widgets are a brand new app type in visionOS 26 Built in apps such as Clock, Weather, Music, Photos are included. Developers can create their own with an API The best part: they will reappear in the same place every time you put your Apple Vision Pro back on! [video] Ben Geskin / @bengeskin : visionOS 26 Personas look INSANE 🤩 all-new Personas now have striking expressivity and sharpness, offering a full side profile view, and accurate hair, lashes, and complexion. Personas are still created on device in a matter of seconds, and new improvements to the setup [video] Biggs / @spatialbiggs : Meta's frosted glass redesign for Horizon OS was in no way inspired by Apple's Liquid Glass redesign born off visionOS 🙄 [image] Ben Bajarin / @benbajarin : Certainly a lot of influence from visionOS as Apple is preparing everyone to move into the more immersive era of software experiences with Liquid Glass.
Context & Ripple Effects
visionOS 26 extends the platform work visible in the visionOS 2.4 developer beta, which added Apple Intelligence, a guest mode and a Spatial Gallery app. The new release broadens that foundation across the everyday interface, social presence and media creation.
Vision Pro launched with a lineup of streaming and sports apps, including services offering 3D movies, in its initial app catalog. This update matters because it adds more reasons to use the headset beyond discrete entertainment sessions, while widening the tools available to games and spatial-content developers.
First-order effects
- Vision Pro users gain persistent spatial widgets, more photorealistic on-device Personas, AI-powered Spatial Scenes and broader immersive-video playback support.
- Developers can build around the Spatial Scenes API and supported 6DoF input hardware; PS VR2 Sense controller and Logitech stylus support immediately expands interaction options for games and work-oriented apps.
Second-order effects
- Game developers can target more familiar tracked controllers and haptics on Vision Pro, while accessory makers have a clearer route to support specialized input workflows.
- Support for footage from Insta360, GoPro and Canon gives camera vendors and creators a more direct playback destination, increasing the value of spatial capture alongside Apple’s own Photos, Spatial Gallery and Safari surfaces.
Third-order effects
- If developers adopt the new APIs and peripherals, Vision Pro can evolve from a largely self-contained headset into a broader spatial-computing platform with distinct interfaces for productivity, communication, media and games.
- The update reinforces the challenge identified in the earlier case for a step change beyond gaming-focused VR: platform differentiation will depend not just on display capability, but on recurring-use software, content formats and input ecosystems.
The trend: Spatial-computing platforms are expanding from immersive viewing experiences toward persistent, multi-input operating environments for work, communication, creation and entertainment.