With visionOS 26, Apple begins to zero-in on what the Vision Pro is actually used for

As part of a wider software rebranding effort, Apple’s visionOS is jumping from version 2 to 26 with a new software update announced during the company’s developer conference this week.

visionOS 26 will reach Vision Pro users later this year, and it focuses on refining the focus of the device based on how users are actually using it rather than whatever wild ideas the company had during its initial development—including addressing common complaints about how the Vision Pro doesn’t support some features of popular competing mixed-reality headsets.

For example, the headset will soon support native playback of 3D video recorded by people other than Apple and downloaded from anywhere on the Internet—something you had to use a few, somewhat janky third-party apps to do until now, but which is an easier-to-access feature of some other mixed-reality headsets.

In general, making experiences consistent across a space is a theme of the new version of visionOS. For the first time, multiple Vision Pro users can view the same content in sync in the same room. The examples Apple showed included two people watching a movie on a virtual screen together on the couch, and two people in the same room and one person remotely via their Persona working in a car design app.

And since we’re on the topic of Personas, that much-maligned feature (which creates a 3D avatar to represent you in video calls while you’re wearing the headset) is getting a facelift. Apple claims Personas will look much better and more natural—which wouldn’t be saying too much, to be frank.