Discuss Spatial Computing on Apple Platforms.

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Scene's origin relative to portal's window?
I am experimenting with RealityKit to set up a portal. Everything works, but I was wondering where the scene's origin is with respect to the front of the portal window? From experiments, the origin's X and Y appear to be at the center of the portal window, while the origin's Z appearing to be about a meter behind the portal window. Is this (at least roughly) correct? Is it documented anywhere? PS. I began with the standard visionOS app and edited the Reality Composer Pro file to create the scene.
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Mar ’25
Request File Access from Unity for Apple Vision Pro
Hi, I am trying to load files from the Apple Vision Pro's storage into a Unity App (using Apple visionOS XR Plugin and not PolySpatial package). So far, I've tried using UnitySimpleFileBrowser and UnityStandaloneFileBrowser (both aren't made for the Vision Pro and don't work there), and then implemented my own naive file browser that at least allows me to view directories (that I can see from the App Sandbox). This is of course very limited: Gray folders can't be accessed, the only 3 available ones don't contain anything where a user would put files through the "Files" app. I know that an app can request access to these "Files & Folders": So my question is: Is there a way to request this access for a Unity-built app at the moment? If yes, what do I need to do? I've looked into the generated Xcode project's "Capabilities", but did not find anything related to file access. Any help is appreciated!
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Oct ’25
Manipulation stops working when changing rooms
This post documents an issue I reported in feedback FB19610114 and see if anyone knows of a workaround. Here is a copy of the feedback. Short version Manipulation (SwiftUI OR RealityKit) fails to translate entities after changing rooms. By changing rooms, I mean a human wearing an Apple Vision Pro leaving one room and entering another room. Once this issue occurs, it impacts all apps that use these features. A device restart is the only solution I have to fix it. Feedback FB19610114 This is an odd one. I'm using the new Manipulation Component in visionOS 26. Most of the time this works well. Sometime it stops working and when it does the only way to get it working again is to reboot the headset. When this happens, I can continue to rotate and scale items, but translation no longer works. It is as if the item is stuck to a fixed point in the parent scene (window, volume, etc). When this bug occurs, it affects every app across the entire operating system that is using manipulation, including the RealityKit component AND the SwiftUI version. This is not limited to one app and is not limited to apps that I am working on. Once this error occurs, it affects literally any application across the operating system that is using this API, including apps from Apple. I won't speculate on the cause of this, but I do know of one way where I can always get it to happen. Here is how to reproduce it: Make an Xcode project with a single entity that uses the Manipulation Component. There is no need to customize the configuration of this component. The default implementation will work. Build and run this app on device. You can keep running from device or quit and launch the app like normal on device. Open the app and manipulate the entity - it should work as expected. Physically walk into another room. It is vital that you leave the current room that you are in and enter a different room entirely. Use the digital crown to recenter your view and bring your window or volume to you. Test the manipulation on the entity again - it should still be working as expected at this point. Physically, move yourself and your headset into the original room where you started. Use the digital crown to recenter your view and bring your window or volume to you. Test the manipulation on the entity again - you should now see the issue. When I follow the steps above, then 100% of the time manipulation translation stops working at this point. It will impact any application using this API. The only way to fix it is to restart my headset. A few points to keep in mind It does not matter if an app is actively being run from Xcode. When this occurs, it impacts every single app, not just one. When this occurs, rotation and scaling continue to work, but the entity/view cannot be translated. This impacts BOTH the SwiftUI version and the RealityKit version. When this occurs, the only way to "fix" it is to reboot the device.
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Oct ’25
RealityKit / visionOS – Memory not released after dismissing ImmersiveSpace with USDZ models
Hi everyone, I’m encountering a memory overflow issue in my visionOS app and I’d like to confirm if this is expected behavior or if I’m missing something in cleanup. App Context The app showcases apartments in real scale using AR. Apartments are heavy USDZ models (hundreds of thousands of triangles, high-resolution textures). Users can walk inside the apartments, and performance is good even close to hardware limits. Flow The app starts in a full immersive space (RealityView) for selecting the apartment. When an apartment is selected, a new ImmersiveSpace opens and the apartment scene loads. The scene includes multiple USDZ models, EnvironmentResources, and dynamic textures for skyboxes. When the user dismisses the experience, we attempt cleanup: Nulling out all entity references. Removing ModelComponents. Clearing cached textures and skyboxes. Forcing dictionaries/collections to empty. Despite this cleanup, memory usage remains very high. Problem After dismissing the ImmersiveSpace, memory does not return to baseline. Check the attached screenshot of the profiling made using Instruments: Initial state: ~30MB (main menu). After loading models sequentially: ~3.3GB. Skybox textures bring it near ~4GB. After dismissing the experience (at ~01:00 mark): memory only drops slightly (to ~2.66GB). When loading the second apartment, memory continues to increase until ~5GB, at which point the app crashes due to memory pressure. The issue is consistently visible under VM: IOSurface in Instruments. No leaks are detected. So it looks like RealityKit (or lower-level frameworks) keeps caching meshes and textures, and does not free them when RealityView is ended. But for my use case, these resources should be fully released once the ImmersiveSpace is dismissed, since new apartments will load entirely different models and textures. Cleanup Code Example Here’s a simplified version of the cleanup I’m doing: func clearAllRoomEntities() { for (entityName, entity) in entityFromMarker { entity.removeFromParent() if let modelEntity = entity as? ModelEntity { modelEntity.components.removeAll() modelEntity.children.forEach { $0.removeFromParent() } modelEntity.clearTexturesAndMaterials() } entityFromMarker[entityName] = nil removeSkyboxPortals(from: entityName) } entityFromMarker.removeAll() } extension ModelEntity { func clearTexturesAndMaterials() { guard var modelComponent = self.model else { return } for index in modelComponent.materials.indices { removeTextures(from: &modelComponent.materials[index]) } modelComponent.materials.removeAll() self.model = modelComponent self.model = nil } private func removeTextures(from material: inout any Material) { if var pbr = material as? PhysicallyBasedMaterial { pbr.baseColor.texture = nil pbr.emissiveColor.texture = nil pbr.metallic.texture = nil pbr.roughness.texture = nil pbr.normal.texture = nil pbr.ambientOcclusion.texture = nil pbr.clearcoat.texture = nil material = pbr } else if var simple = material as? SimpleMaterial { simple.color.texture = nil material = simple } } } Questions Is this expected RealityKit behavior (textures/meshes cached internally)? Is there a way to force RealityKit to release GPU resources tied to USDZ models when they’re no longer used? Should dismissing the ImmersiveSpace automatically free those IOSurfaces, or do I need to handle this differently? Any guidance, best practices, or confirmation would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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Portal crossing causes inconsistent lighting and visual artifacts between virtual and real spaces (visionOS 2.0)
Hello, I'm working with the new PortalComponent introduced in visionOS 2.0, and I've encountered some issues when transitioning entities between virtual and real-world spaces using crossingMode. Specifically: Lighting inconsistency: When CG content (ModelEntities with PhysicallyBasedMaterial) crosses the portal from virtual space into the real environment, the way light reflects on the objects changes noticeably. This causes a jarring visual effect, as the same material appears differently depending on the space it's in. Unnatural transition visuals: During the transition, the CG models often appear to "emerge from the wall," especially when crossing from virtual to real. This ruins the immersive illusion and feels visually unnatural. IBL adjustment attempts: I’ve tried adding an ImageBasedLightComponent to the world entity, and while it slightly improves the lighting consistency, the issue still remains to a noticeable degree. My goal is to create a seamless visual experience when CG entities cross between spaces, without sudden lighting shifts or immersion-breaking geometry reveals. Has anyone else experienced similar issues? Is there a recommended setup or workaround to better control lighting and visual fidelity when using crossingMode with portals in visionOS 2.0? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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Jul ’25
Synchronizing Physical Properties of EntityEquipment in TableTopKi
I am working on adding synchronized physical properties to EntityEquipment in TableTopKit, allowing seamless coordination during GroupActivities sessions between players. Current Approach and Limitations I have tried setting EntityEquipment's state to DieState and treating it as a TossableRepresentation object. This approach achieves basic physical properties synchronized across players. However, it has several limitations: No Collision Detection Between Dice: Multiple dice do not collide with each other. Shape Limitations: Custom shapes, like parallelepipeds, cannot be configured. Below is my existing code for Base Entity Equipment without physical properties: struct CubeWithPhysics: EntityEquipment { let id: ID let entity: Entity var initialState: BaseEquipmentState init(id: ID, entity: Entity) { self.id = id self.entity = entity initialState = .init(parentID: .tableID, pose: .init(position: .zero, rotation: .zero), entity: self.entity) } } I’d appreciate any guidance on the recommended approach to adding synchronized physical properties to EntityEquipment.
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Nov ’24
Developer Strap Gen 2 - Only USB2 Speeds
I am testing out the Gen 2 of the developer strap on my Vision Pro M2 and I have only been able to get USB 2 speeds when connecting it to my MacBook Pro Max M3. I used the official Apple Thunderbolt 4 cable, which does get Thunderbolt speeds on my T7 Touch drive. Has anyone figured out a solution for this issue? The Gen 2 developer strap does advertise 20 Gb/s speeds.
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PSVR2 controller button quirks
I have an open Feedback conversation with Apple on this topic, but I am curious if others have run into this, or want to try out my sample code in their set up. there are two API’s for reading controller buttons, axis, and D pads: GCPhysicalInputProfile and GCControllerLiveInput. There are inconsistencies in behaviour between the two of them. Apple recommends we use GCControllerLiveInput, however, there are some capabilities on these controllers that are only accessible through GCPhysicalInputProfile, as I’ll discuss below. PSVR2 R2/L2 buttons, a.k.a. triggers, have force input analogue values. These can only be accessed on GCPhysicalInputProfile PSVR2 thumbstick direction values are read through “axes” on GCPhysicalInputProfile, but only “dpads” on GCControllerLiveInput on both GCPhysicalInputProfile and GCControllerLiveInput, All pressed events of all buttons are fired properly using generic aliases ( Trigger, Grip ,Menu, Right Thumbstick, Left Thumbstick, Right Button A & B (Circle & Cross), Left Button A&B (Triangle and Square) ). Apple reserves the system button as the equivalent of a home button for the OS. on GCPhysicalInputProfile, touch events are fired when the button is also pressed, but not for only touches. on GCControllerLiveInput , Touch events only works for the following buttons: Left Thumbstick, Right Thumbstick, Right Button A (Circle), and Right Button B (Cross). But Right Button B touch event isn’t labelled correctly, it fires as the Right Button A event. I observed this inside ALVR which uses a polling based approach to event processing: https://github.com/alvr-org/alvr-visionos/blob/17b5968f9d894944b53e97134b39dfce0993302a/ALVRClient/WorldTracker.swift#L301 To simplify to see this on a very simple app, I used the Apple example TrackingAccessories application: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/ARKit/tracking-accessories-in-volumetric-windows I’ve attached the code that replaces the AccessoryTrackingModel class. I added code that prints out what is touched/pressed, see the trackAllConnectedSpatialControllers method: https://github.com/svrc/TrackingAccessories
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A Summary of the WWDC25 Group Lab - visionOS
At WWDC25 we launched a new type of Lab event for the developer community - Group Labs. A Group Lab is a panel Q&A designed for a large audience of developers. Group Labs are a unique opportunity for the community to submit questions directly to a panel of Apple engineers and designers. Here are the highlights from the WWDC25 Group Lab for visionOS. I saw that there is a new way to add SwiftUI View attachments in my RealityView, what advantages does this have over the old way? Attachments can now be added directly to your entities with ViewAttachmentComponent. The removes the need to declare your attachments upfront in your RealityView initializer and then add those attachments as child entities. The new approach provides greater flexibility. Canyon Crosser and Petite Asteroids both utilize the new approach. ManipulationComponent looks really cool! Right now my app has a series of complicated custom gestures. What gestures does it handle for me exactly, and are there any situations where I should prefer my own custom gestures? ManipulationComponent provides natural interaction with virtual objects. It seamlessly handles translation and rotation. You can easily add manipulation to a SwiftUI view like Model3D with the manipulable view modifier. The new Object Manipulation API is great for most apps, and is a breeze to implement, but sometimes you might want a more custom feel, and that’s ok! Custom gestures are still fully supported for that scenario. I saw that there is a new API to also access the right main camera. What can I do with this? Correct, in visionOS 26, you can access the left and right main cameras. You can even access them simultaneously as a stereo pair. Camera access still requires a managed entitlement and an enterprise license, see Accessing the main camera for more details about those requirements. More computer vision and machine learning use-cases are unlocked with access to both cameras, we are excited to see what you will do! What do I need to do to add spatial accessory input for my app? First, use the GameController framework to establish a connection with the spatial accessory, and then listen for events from the controller. Then, you can use either RealityKit, ARKit, or a combination of both to track the accessory, anchor virtual content to it, and fine tune the accessory interaction with the content in your app. For more details, check out Discovering and tracking spatial game controllers and styli. By far, the most difficulty with implementing visionOS apps is SwiftUI window management…placing, opening, closing, etc. Are there any improvements to window management in visionOS 26? Yes! We recommend watching Set the scene with SwiftUI in visionOS. You can use the defaultLaunchBehavior to choose whether a particular window is presented (or suppressed) at launch. You can also prevent a window like a secondary toolbar from launching as the initial window using .restorationBehavior(.disabled). Adopting best practices for persistent UI provides a great overview of SwiftUI window management on visionOS. As for placing windows, there is still no API for an app to specify the placement of its windows other than relative placement. If that is a feature you are interested in, please file an enhancement request for it using Feedback Assistant! How to get access to the Enterprise API? First, request the entitlement and license through your Apple Developer or enterprise account. Once these have been granted, include the license and entitlement in your project. Then you can build, test, and distribute as an in-house app.
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Jul ’25
Metal (Compositor Services) or RealityKit on visionOS
I am develop visionOS app. I am now very interested in Metal and Compositor Services, but I have not explored them in depth. I know that Metal has a higher degree of control freedom. I am wondering if using Compositor Services will have fewer functions than RealityKit in AR technology (such as scene reconstruction and understanding, hover effect, etc.).
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Jun ’25
VisionOS: Detect plane to place objects issue for animated objects
Hi, I have used the template code for Plane Detection and placing models on them from here https://developer.apple.com/documentation/visionos/placing-content-on-detected-planes This source code did not copy the animations in the preview model to the PlacedModel and hence I modified it to do a manual copy of animations and textures. There is a function called materialize() that does this and I was able to modify it to get it working where the placed models are now animating. The issue is when I apply gestures on them like drag or rotate. For those models that go through this logic I'm unable to add gestures even though I'm making sure that Collision and Input Target is set on the Placed Models. Has anyone been able to get this working or is it even a possibility? My materialize function func materialize() -> PlacedObject { let shapes = previewEntity.components[CollisionComponent.self]!.shapes // Clone render content first as we need its materials let clonedRenderContent = renderContent.clone(recursive: true) print("To be finding main model: \(descriptor.displayName)") // Find the main model in preview hierarchy func findMainModel(_ entity: Entity) -> Entity? { if entity.name == descriptor.displayName.replacingOccurrences(of: " ", with: "_") { print("Found main model: \(entity.name)") return entity } for child in entity.children { if child.name == descriptor.displayName.replacingOccurrences(of: " ", with: "_") { print("Found main model in children: \(child.name)") return child } } return nil } // Clone hierarchy preserving structure, names, and materials func cloneHierarchy(_ entity: Entity) -> Entity { print("Cloning: \(entity.name)") let cloned: Entity if let model = entity as? ModelEntity { // Clone with recursive false to handle children manually cloned = model.clone(recursive: false) if let clonedModel = cloned as? ModelEntity, let originalMaterials = model.model?.materials { // Preserve the original model's materials clonedModel.model?.materials = originalMaterials } } else { cloned = Entity() } // Preserve name and transform cloned.name = entity.name cloned.transform = entity.transform // Clone children for child in entity.children { let clonedChild = cloneHierarchy(child) cloned.addChild(clonedChild) } return cloned } print("=== Cloning Preview Structure ===") // Clone the preview hierarchy with proper structure let clonedStructure = cloneHierarchy(previewEntity) // Find and use the main model if let mainModel = findMainModel(clonedStructure) { print("Using main model for PlacedObject") let modelEntity: ModelEntity if let asModel = mainModel as? ModelEntity { print("Using asModel ") modelEntity = asModel } else { modelEntity = ModelEntity() modelEntity.name = mainModel.name // Copy children and transforms for child in mainModel.children { modelEntity.addChild(child) } modelEntity.transform = mainModel.transform } // Add collision component here let collisionComponent = CollisionComponent(shapes: shapes, isStatic: false, filter: CollisionFilter(group: PlacedObject.collisionGroup, mask: .all)) modelEntity.components.set(collisionComponent) // Create the placed object let placedObject = PlacedObject(descriptor: descriptor, renderContentToClone: modelEntity, shapes: shapes) // Set input target on the placed object itself placedObject.components.set(InputTargetComponent(allowedInputTypes: [.direct, .indirect])) return placedObject } else { print("Fallback to original render content") let placedObject = PlacedObject(descriptor: descriptor, renderContentToClone: clonedRenderContent, shapes: shapes) placedObject.components.set(InputTargetComponent(allowedInputTypes: [.direct, .indirect])) return placedObject } } My PlacedObject class where the init has the recursive cloning removed because it is handled in materialize class PlacedObject: Entity { let fileName: String // The 3D model displayed for this object. private let renderContent: ModelEntity static let collisionGroup = CollisionGroup(rawValue: 1 << 29) // The origin of the UI attached to this object. // The UI is gravity aligned and oriented towards the user. let uiOrigin = Entity() var affectedByPhysics = false { didSet { guard affectedByPhysics != oldValue else { return } if affectedByPhysics { components[PhysicsBodyComponent.self]!.mode = .static } else { components[PhysicsBodyComponent.self]!.mode = .static } } } var isBeingDragged = false { didSet { affectedByPhysics = !isBeingDragged } } var positionAtLastReanchoringCheck: SIMD3<Float>? var atRest = false init(descriptor: ModelDescriptor, renderContentToClone: ModelEntity, shapes: [ShapeResource]) { fileName = descriptor.fileName // renderContent = renderContentToClone.clone(recursive: true) renderContent = renderContentToClone super.init() name = renderContent.name // Apply the rendered content’s scale to this parent entity to ensure // that the scale of the collision shape and physics body are correct. scale = renderContent.scale renderContent.scale = .one // Make the object respond to gravity. let physicsMaterial = PhysicsMaterialResource.generate(restitution: 0.0) let physicsBodyComponent = PhysicsBodyComponent(shapes: shapes, mass: 1.0, material: physicsMaterial, mode: .static) components.set(physicsBodyComponent) components.set(CollisionComponent(shapes: shapes, isStatic: false, filter: CollisionFilter(group: PlacedObject.collisionGroup, mask: .all))) addChild(renderContent) addChild(uiOrigin) uiOrigin.position.y = extents.y / 2 // Position the UI origin in the object’s center. // Allow direct and indirect manipulation of placed objects. components.set(InputTargetComponent(allowedInputTypes: [.direct, .indirect])) // Add a grounding shadow to placed objects. renderContent.components.set(GroundingShadowComponent(castsShadow: true)) } required init() { fatalError("`init` is unimplemented.") } } Thanks
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Feb ’25
Presenting images in RealityKit sample No Longer Builds
After updating to the latest visionOS beta, visionOS 26 Beta 4 (23M5300g) the ‘Presenting images in RealityKit’ sample from the following link no longer builds due to an error. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/RealityKit/presenting-images-in-realitykit Expected / Previous: Application builds and runs on device, working as described in the documentation. Reality: Application builds, but does not run on device due to an error (shown in screenshot) “Thread 1: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (code=1, address=0xb)”. The application still runs on the simulator, but not on device. When launching the app from Xcode, it builds and installs correctly but hangs due to the respective error. When loading the app from the Home Screen, the app does not load, and immediately returns to the Home Screen. This Xcode project previously ran with no changes to code - the only change was updating the visionOS system software to the latest version. visionOS 26 Beta 4 (23M5300g) Is anyone else experiencing this issue?
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Aug ’25
Alternatives to SceneView
Hey there, since SceneView has been marked as „deprecated“ for SwiftUI, I‘m wondering which alternatives should be considered for the following situation: I have a SwiftUI app (for iOS and iPadOS) where users can view (with rotate, scale, move gestures) 3D models (USDZ) in a scene. The models will be downloaded from web backend and called via local URL paths. What I tested: I‘ve tried ARView in .nonAR mode, RealityView, however I didn‘t get the expected response -> User can rotate, scale the 3D models in a virtual space. ARView in nonAR mode still shows the object like in normal AR mode without camera stream. I tried to add Gestures to the RealityView on iOS - loading USDZ 3D models worked but the gestures didn’t). Model3D is only available for visionOS (that would be amazing to have it for iOS) I also checked QuickLook Preview however it works pretty strange via Filepicker etc, which is not the way how the user should load the 3D models in my app. Maybe I missed something, I couldn’t find anything which can help me. I‘m pretty much stucked adopting the latest and greatest frameworks/APIs in my App and taking the next steps porting my app to visionOS. Long story short 😃: Does someone have an idea what is the alternative to SceneView for USDZ 3D models? I appreciate your support!! Thanks in advance!
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Jul ’25
Xcode 26 - extremely long time to open immersive space
The issue reproducible with empty project. When you run it and tap "Open immersive space" it takes a couple of minutes to respond. The issue only reproducible on real device with debugger attached. Reproducible other developers too (not specific to my environment). Issue doesn't exists in Xcode 16. Afer initial long delay subsequent opens works fine. Console logs: nw_socket_copy_info [C1:2] getsockopt TCP_INFO failed [102: Operation not supported on socket] nw_socket_copy_info getsockopt TCP_INFO failed [102: Operation not supported on socket] Failed to set dependencies on asset 9303749952624825765 because NetworkAssetManager does not have an asset entity for that id. void * _Nullable NSMapGet(NSMapTable * _Nonnull, const void * _Nullable): map table argument is NULL PSO compilation completed for driver shader copyFromBufferToTexture so=0 sbpr=256 sbpi=16384 ss=(64, 64, 1) p=70 sc=1 ds=0 dl=0 do=(0, 0, 0) in 1997 XPC connection interrupted <<<< FigAudioSession(AV) >>>> audioSessionAVAudioSession_CopyMXSessionProperty signalled err=-19224 (kFigAudioSessionError_UnsupportedOperation) (getMXSessionProperty unsupported) at FigAudioSession_AVAudioSession.m:606 Failed to load item AXCodeItem<0x14706f250> [Rank:6000] SpringBoardUIServices [AXBundle name:/System/Library/AccessibilityBundles/SpringBoardUIServices.axbundle/SpringBoardUIServices] [Platforms and Targets:{ iOS = SpringBoardUIServices; } Framework] [Excluded: (null)]. error: Error Domain=AXLoading Code=0 "URL does not exist: file:///System/Library/AccessibilityBundles/SpringBoardUIServices.axbundle" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=URL does not exist: file:///System/Library/AccessibilityBundles/SpringBoardUIServices.axbundle} Failed to load item AXCodeItem<0x14706f250> [Rank:6000] SpringBoardUIServices [AXBundle name:/System/Library/AccessibilityBundles/SpringBoardUIServices.axbundle/SpringBoardUIServices] [Platforms and Targets:{ iOS = SpringBoardUIServices; } Framework] [Excluded: (null)]. error: Error Domain=AXLoading Code=0 "URL does not exist: file:///System/Library/AccessibilityBundles/SpringBoardUIServices.axbundle" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=URL does not exist: file:///System/Library/AccessibilityBundles/SpringBoardUIServices.axbundle} [b30780-MRUIFeedbackTypeButtonWithBackgroundTouchDown] Playback timed out before completion (after 3111 ms) Failed to set dependencies on asset 7089614247973236977 because NetworkAssetManager does not have an asset entity for that id.
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379
Oct ’25