iPhone and iPad apps will show up on the VisionOS App Store – While Apple’s renowned Vision Pro headset is not yet available for purchase, the company is ensuring that users have a plethora of apps to utilize when it becomes available. The company announced today that iPhone and iPad apps will be available on the VisionOS App Store on the day of the launch.
This implies that developers will not have to perform any additional work to port their existing apps. Apple has stated that a developer beta version of visionOS, including the App Store, will be released this fall.
“By default, your iPad and/or iPhone apps will be published automatically on the App Store on Apple Vision Pro. Most frameworks available in iPadOS and iOS are also included in visionOS, which means nearly all iPad and iPhone apps can run on visionOS, unmodified. Customers will be able to use your apps on visionOS early next year when Apple Vision Pro becomes available,” the company stated in a post.
Also see: Meta Teams With LG On a Mixed Reality Headset to Compete with Apple’s Vision Pro
The Vision Pro headset was revealed by Apple in June at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC). Later that month, the company published the Vision Pro SDK, which allows developers to experiment with various aspects of the visionOS. Apple began taking applications for a loaned developer kit in July. In addition, Cupertino, London, Munich, Shanghai, Singapore, and Tokyo have hosted in-person development labs for Vision Pro.
While iPhone and iPad apps will immediately appear in the VisionOS App Store, developers may utilize the SDK to add 3D components and support for hand motions to make the apps “feel more natural” on the device.
Steve Sinclair, senior director of product marketing for Apple Vision Pro, told Digital Trends that the amount of SDK downloads had “exceeded” the company’s expectations.
However, due to the restricted availability of developer labs for in-person experience and a limited dev kit program, many developers must rely on the simulator the majority of the time. According to Sinclair, in order to have a diverse set of apps offering varied experiences, Apple will “need to make it [the Vision Pro] accessible to every single one of our developers.”
