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Did you think the one missing feature on Vision Pro was the ability to create AI-generated emojis to text friends? On Friday, Apple launched the first few Apple Intelligence features on its $3,500 Vision Pro. While the features are well-known if you’ve used a Mac in the last six months, they may indicate Apple’s MR headset may also receive the cross-app AI-ified Siri whenever that finally becomes a reality.
The visionOS 2.4 beta AI features work similarly to their Mac counterparts, though with UI changes to make it easier to type prompts without a mouse and keyboard. Like Mac or iOS, users can access the ChatGPT function with its limited AI prompt box. Like iOS or macOS, you can use AI writing tools to compose or proofread the text you write on Vision Pro. Why you’re using Apple’s headset to type an email is another question entirely.
© Image: Apple The newly-released Vision Pro now supports Genmoji for the Messages app and the Image Playground for generating a few cartoon-styled versions of your friends and pets—even though most end up on the wrong side of the uncanny valley. Finally, the Photos app has a new “Create a Memory” feature. Users can input a prompt with the in-headset keyboard or their voice, and then the AI will create a custom slideshow by selecting users’ videos and photos that apply to that prompt. For example, Apple’s prompt for “day in the skate park” cut together a loose assortment of clips with a few simple transitions. S
© GIF: Apple VisionOS 2.4 isn’t as major an update as the transition to visionOS 2, though Apple is trying to make its headset fill a niche within its wider ecosystem. This includes an all-new Vision Pro app for iOS. Users can use it to take remote actions on their AVP, like creating a watch list or downloading apps remotely. The app will also share your Vision Pro’s serial number if needed. Anybody with a Vision Pro connected to their Apple account will see the new app appear on their iPhones when they upgrade to iOS 18.4. The update also offers a new app on Vision Pro called Spatial Gallery that collects all of the users’ spatial photos and videos they’ve taken with either the headset or devices that support the format, like the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models.
Despite all this, what may be the most useful feature of them all is the new way Vision Pro works with guest users. The headset owner no longer needs to load in first before handing off the AVP to their friend to try it (who will inevitably put it on, tell you, “Oh, that’s cool,” and then never pick it up again). Instead, users will get prompted on their phone or iPad to set up a guest user. You can set what apps you will let them access, and you may even watch what they’re doing by streaming it to your iPhone or iPad through AirPlay. It’s akin to the same experience you get if you ever did Apple’s in-store AVP demo experience, though you may not have as much direct control over the headset as a regular Apple “Genius.”
AI on AVP seemed inevitable, though it took longer than anticipated for AI to arrive in VR. The Vision Pro uses Apple’s M2 chip, and the Cupertino, California tech giant has already stated that any Mac with M-series silicon should have what it takes for Apple Intelligence. Either way, all the new AI features won’t offer a major change for anybody still using Vision Pro. The device is most helpful in creating a massive ultra-wide Mac screen or watching passive content on a pseudo-large display with AVP’s dual 4K OLED lenses.
There’s the chance that the supercharged Siri promised to arrive sometime in the next few months may offer more capabilities and the ability to take actions on Vision Pro apps on users’ behalf. I can imagine the planned “Visual Intelligence” features that will let you ask questions based on what the external cameras see could offer new ways to use the device if any first- or third-party apps take advantage of it. But, hell, all I really want is an iPhone to AVP mirroring like I can do on my Mac with macOS Sequoia.
