The Vision Pro’s Software Landscape: Progress and Persistent Limitations
The Apple Vision Pro represents a bold step into spatial computing, and while the hardware is impressive, the software experience is a more nuanced story. Currently, the content ecosystem is demonstrably improving, offering a worthwhile experience even if it doesn’t yet demand hours of daily use. A year ago, that wasn’t the case.
Though, a significant challenge remains: app support feels largely stuck in 2024. Let’s delve into the current state and what it means for your experience.
The Productivity App Gap
Many of us rely on specific applications to manage our daily workflows. For example, consider a typical setup for a macOS user:
* firefox for browsing.
* Spark for email management.
* Todoist for task organization.
* Obsidian for note-taking and knowledge management.
* Raycast for quick actions and launching apps.
* Slack for team communication.
* Visual Studio Code for coding.
* claude for AI assistance.
* 1Password for secure password storage.
Interestingly, almost all of these are accessible on visionOS, but with a crucial caveat. They run as iPad apps, appearing as flat, virtual windows within the spatial habitat. This works, but it’s far from ideal.
Fortunately, apps like Firefox, Spark, Todoist, Obsidian, Slack, 1Password, and Raycast are available through iPad compatibility. Surprisingly,Claude isn’t,despite having an iPad version. ChatGPT’s iPad app does function, however. Visual Studio Code isn’t available, and frankly, wasn’t a high expectation at this stage.
This reliance on iPad apps highlights a key issue: a lack of truly native visionOS applications.Imagine the possibilities of visualizing your Obsidian knowledge graph in augmented reality! Sadly, that remains a future aspiration.
Native vs. iPad Apps: A Visual Cue
Distinguishing between native and iPad apps is simple. Native apps fill the entire circular icon, while iPad apps are displayed as rectangular icons within a circle. This subtle visual difference quickly reveals the origin of each submission.
Apple’s Own Apps: A Mixed Bag
If you primarily use Apple’s built-in suite,the situation is slightly better. Yet, even here, some expected spatial computing features are missing. Apple Maps, for instance, is currently available only as an iPad app, lacking the immersive experience you might anticipate.
What This Means for You
The current software landscape presents both opportunities and limitations.While the ability to run iPad apps expands the available functionality, it’s a temporary solution. The true potential of the Vision Pro will only be unlocked when developers embrace the platform and create applications specifically designed for spatial computing.
For now, the Vision Pro is a promising glimpse into the future, but it’s a future that still requires significant progress to fully realize. It’s a fantastic device for early adopters and those intrigued by the technology, but it’s vital to understand the current software constraints before investing.
Worth a look