A page on Apple's website suggests it will open applications for Vision Pro development kits in July.
The subpage of the visionOS section of the Apple Developer site titled Work with Apple provides three options for developers interested in bringing apps to the new spatial computing platform. A label on the page reads 'Available in July'.
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Vision Pro compatibility evaluations: developers of existing iPhone and iPad apps will be able to request a report from Apple "on your app or game’s appearance and how it behaves in visionOS."
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Vision Pro developer labs: Apple will host sessions in Cupertino, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo – developers can apply to attend a session and experience their visionOS, iPadOS, or iOS apps running on a Vision Pro.
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Vision Pro developer kits: "To support great ideas for apps and games for visionOS," Apple will make Vision Pro developer kits available. "Stay tuned for how to apply," the page notes.
To build spatial apps for visionOS Apple recommends using its own suite of tools: Xcode IDE, SwiftUI for user interfaces, and its ARKit and RealityKit frameworks for handling tracking, rendering, physics, animations, spatial audio, and more. Apple even announced Reality Composer Pro, essentially its own engine editor.
For developers unable to acquire a dev kit, Apple is adding a visionOS Simulator to Xcode in the version 15 update. This lets developers interact with their apps in a simulated environment as if running on Vision Pro. These apps will be able to be tested on Vision Pro at Apple's hosted developer labs, or when the developer is able to acquire a development kit.
We'll certainly be keeping a close eye on Apple's website in July.
David Heaney
