At WWDC this week, Apple unveiled a new persistent widget system that will be coming to Visionos 26’s Vision Pro. This system allows users to secure widgets to walls and surfaces.
In a developer session released during WWDC this week, Apple delved into Vision Pro’s new widget systems, exploring their behavior, customization options and more. Unlike the typical Vision Pro windows floating in space where the user places them (relocates when the headset is recently or rebooted), widgets can be placed on a wall or flat surface, and stays in place all the time even when the headset is rebooted. This will make Visionos 26 widgets act like a permanent part of your physical environment.
Apple explained that the system supports existing widgets built for other Apple platforms (such as iOS and iPados). That means there are plenty of widgets for Vision Pro users. However, Apple has extended its WidgetKit platform with new options specific to Vision Pro. This includes new sizes and aspect ratios to choose from.
Additionally, developers can choose between “paper” or “glass” overlays that define how the widget responds to lighting in the user’s space.
For widgets with static information such as photos or cover art, Apple suggests paper styles so that the room lights dim and look like part of the actual room.
For widgets that present dynamic information, please note that Apple suggests glass styles, allowing information about glass styles to remain illuminated and can be easily displayed at all times.
Widgets created for Visionos 26 can wake up close, allowing the widget to change between states based on how close or far the user is from the widget. This allows developers to view simplified information (such as weather conditions) from the entire room, and see it in more detail as users approach them (such as this week’s forecast).
Among the new first-party Apple widgets specific to Vision Pro, they introduce the album Art on the Wall, which rings the album when the user clicks. The other is the “Photo Window”, which allows you to create a virtual window with panoramic photos, making it look like you’re actually watching the scene. However, these photos are not spaces and are flat for now.
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The clock widget has earned a new design and an overhaul with enhanced details to enhance the details.
Apple really wants to feel part of the user’s real space, rather than a floating window with widgets. Therefore, they Must do They are placed on walls or flat surfaces and are also blocked by other virtual content, furniture and real-world environments such as walls.
To keep the widgets grounded as part of the real environment, they are always included within a realistic shadow frame.
Developers have new tools for creating widgets in Vision Pro, but users are also given a variety of customization options.
The widget can be adjusted from 75% to 125% of its original size. They can be “high” to sit on the wall like a picture frame, or “embedded” to sink them slightly into the wall and make them feel like a part of it. In “Promoted” mode, the user can define the thickness of the frame.
Users can also choose from a handful of colors, both in bright and dark variations.
When you place a widget on a wall, nearby widgets automatically snap to grid placement and easily group them.
Widgets are interactive, allowing users to use look and pinch or physically touch the widget to check off To Do list items. If the widget does not have a specific interaction, the parent application will start when interacting with it by default.
The widget is already available in the Visionos 26 developer beta, released this week, and is expected to be released this fall.