Apple today announced that the Software Development Kit (SDK) for Vision Pro’s visionOS is now available to third-party developers who are seeking to begin building and testing native visionOS apps.
Apple also states that it plans to launch dedicated developer labs in many cities around the world to assist developers with building visionOS apps. The company says that the labs set to be opened next month will provide developers with a “hands-on experience” to test their apps in Cupertino, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo.
Developers will also be able to apply for Vision Pro development kits starting in July that will allow them to “quickly build, iterate, and test right on Apple Vision Pro.”
Apple Vision Pro redefines what’s possible on a computing platform. 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.
Susan Prescott, Apple VP of Worldwide Developer Relations
Developers will be able to build visionOS apps for Vision Pro using many of Apple’s existing tools such as Xcode, SwiftUI, RealityKit, ARKit, and TestFlight. Xcode also includes a new Reality Composer Pro tool that allows developers to “preview and prepare 3D models, animations, images, and sounds” as part of their visionOS apps. A new dedicated simulation for visionOS is also available, enabling developers to reenact accurate renditions of “various room layouts and lighting conditions” and see how their apps behave in them.
Reality Composer Pro, visionOS SDK, and a new visionOS-ready Xcode beta are now available to enrolled Apple Developer Program members at the Apple Developer website. Additionally, developers can now make use of a plethora of visionOS-specific resources including technical documentation, design kits, and human interface guidelines.
