Your iPhone can record 3D spatial video and photos, effectively future-proofing the images you capture. And the results are stunning.
The stereoscopic 3D video and photos captured with the iPhone can be viewed on an Apple Vision Pro headset as an immersive way to relive memories.
Here’s how it works.
You can download the visionOS 26 developer beta for free — right now. You can get a look at the exciting new spatial widgets coming to the Vision Pro before the update is shipped to everyone. Unlike other platforms, there is no public beta option, only the developer beta.
Of course, there are a few things you should look out for. Beta software can be buggy and can lead to data loss or apps that don’t work.
If you’re still sure you want to try it out, you should make sure you have a backup of your most important data with two copies of your photo library before you try installing. I’ll show you how.
Apple’s Freeform app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro is a digital whiteboard you can use to brainstorm or gather ideas in one infinitely scrolling canvas.
You can use Freeform to throw together ideas with a colleague. You could build a presentation using Freeform’s scenes, kind of like using Prezi. Or, you can use Freeform as a drawing app with your iPad and Apple Pencil.
Freeform comes with all kinds of features for adding text boxes, rich links, drawings, clip art, sticky notes, files, photos, videos and more. It’s a great way to build a mood board or connect big ideas.
Keep reading below or watch our video guide to find out how to use Freeform.
Vision Pro Guest mode is how you can share your Vision Pro with someone else. Because if you own one of Apple’s new AR/VR headsets, everyone you know is inevitably going to want to try it on. That’s where Vision Pro Guest Mode comes in.
With the release of visionOS 2.4 and iOS 18.4, setting up Guest Mode is much easier than before. The old way still works — but to make sharing your headset more seamless, you should follow the instructions below. There’s a little bit of setup, but then it should be smooth sailing.
This is how to set up a guest user on Vision Pro. Keep reading or watch our video.
visionOS 2 adds a whole bunch of fantastic new quality-of-life features to Apple’s premium mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro. New hand gestures make it easy to bring up the Home View or Control Center, Spatial Photos are a great way to look at your pictures and the new virtual environments are a visual treat.
visionOS 2 is a fantastic update you should install right away — and it’s out right now. Find it in Settings > General > Software Update.
After you update, here’s the list of things you can check out.
If you want to get work done on your Vision Pro, you’ll really want a Bluetooth keyboard and trackpad for precision input and pointing. And for gaming, you can connect a controller, too. The Vision Pro officially supports Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch controllers, with support for some other Bluetooth models as well.
Follow these instructions to pair a Bluetooth device with Vision Pro.
If you get a Vision Pro, you’ll soon need to learn how to charge up that battery. Apple only promises two hours of battery life on its revolutionary headset. Although real-world usage is pushing closer to three, if you want your spatial computing to be untethered, you’ll need to charge the Vision Pro battery often.
Here’s how to do it — along with some tips that will keep you (and your data) safe.
Making a FaceTime call in Vision Pro is a bit more involved than on iPhone or Mac. After all, you have a computer strapped onto your face, which is not typical with other devices.
Step 0, of course, is setting up your Persona — the dynamic, digital version of yourself that Vision Pro uses for FaceTime calls. If you didn’t create a Persona during the Vision Pro setup process, or your Persona looks less fantastic than you’d like, we wrote a separate explainer for you: How to create your Persona in Vision Pro (or make it better).
Once your Persona is set, here’s how to FaceTime in Vision Pro.
You can take a screenshot or a screen recording on Vision Pro, just like on an iPhone or a Mac. The screenshot is saved as an image file, and is easy to view in Photos or share.
Here’s how to take screenshots in Vsion Pro.
Spatial photos and videos look incredibly lifelike in full 3D while wearing an Apple Vision Pro headset. But how do you take photos with Vision Pro? It might be confusing at first since there’s no Camera app in the headset. Instead, Vision Pro uses a new Capture app.
But don’t worry. Any photos or videos you take with Vision Pro will sync to your Photos library. And they’re fully compatible with your other Apple devices, although you’ll only see them there in a boring two dimensions, like it’s still 2023. Yawn.
Screen sharing from your Mac to Vision Pro is a great way to work inside the headset while using your Mac’s keyboard and trackpad. You can enlarge your Mac’s screen to enormous size, and surround it with apps that work inside Vision Pro.
It’s called Mac Virtual Display. Unfortunately, it’s limited to only one Mac screen. But set up right, it can be the ultimate big screen setup — without the actual big screens.
Here’s how to use your Mac with Vision Pro.
How do you force restart Apple Vision Pro? All computers lock up from time to time — even spatial computers you wear on your face. You don’t want to keep it on if it’s locking up; that could lead to a nasty head injury!
Here’s how to reboot or restart Vision Pro.