While Mark Zuckerberg might be making fun of rivals in the AR/VR headset market, Apple’s Vision Pro is beginning to gain traction—at least among developers. According to a Tuesday statement on X by Greg Joswiak, senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing at Apple, over 1,000 apps have been developed specifically to utilise the new technology for the company’s “spatial computing” headgear. That’s a lot more than the 150+ apps that were available in the days before the Vision Pro was released, and it’s more than the 600+ apps that Apple said two weeks ago will be available when the gadget is released.
Given Zuckerberg’s obviously biassed viewpoint, reviews have declared the Vision Pro to be the best mixed reality headset on the market. However, it is still very much a work in progress, and developers may find the market limited by its $3,500 price point. However, as seen by App Store data, more than half of developers have adopted the premium app business model, rather than freemium or free with in-app purchases or subscriptions, which is the situation in other App Store regions. This suggests that even if very few people download their software, they will still be compensated for their effort.
While the Vision Pro is compatible with over 1.5 million iOS and iPad apps, its unique characteristics are best utilised by spatial apps that are designed expressly for the headset. Among the streaming services that provide this are Disney+, ESPN, MLB, PGA Tour, Max, Discovery+, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+, Peacock, Pluto TV, Tubi, Fubo, Crunchyroll, Red Bull TV, IMAX, TikTok, and MUBI. Netflix is a notable anomaly.
The PGA Tour, MLS, NBA, Red Bull TV, and other sports leagues have all developed apps for the new gadget, in addition to productivity software developers like Microsoft, Slack, Notion, Zoom, WebEx, and others. But many other independent software developers have also jumped on board, capitalising on the new platform to close gaps and enter markets with less competition, like health, science, or mindfulness, as demonstrated by Christian Selig’s creation of the YouTube app Juno.
Jordi Bruin, one developer, is even trying to fix a flaw in the Vision Pro by allowing users to watch and record their “Persona,” a 3D avatar that they use while engaging with people via the app, in addition to his Persona Studio software. Persona Studio makes an effort to improve Apple’s personas’ peculiar and unrecognisable appearance.
The fact that the number of Vision Pro apps has increased so rapidly since their release, despite Apple’s recent anti-developer measures that completely negate the effectiveness of legislation like the EU’s DMA, indicates that many developers in the community still see the company as being a feasible platform for their success. Following the objections expressed by several prominent developers, such as Meta, Spotify, Epic Games, Mozilla, Microsoft, and others, to Apple’s DMA plans, there were rumours that the Vision Pro will see a developer boycott or reaction.
While there may be some noticeable holdouts from these larger organisations, it’s clear that a large portion of Apple’s developer community were interested in making apps for the new device. Additionally, Apple added “spatial computing,” a term for mixed reality (AR/VR), to Y Combinator’s list of businesses it wants to invest in today, suggesting that this industry will probably continue to grow.