Discuss Spatial Computing on Apple Platforms.

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Triangle Recommendation Limit for M5 Vision Pro
For the M2 Apple Vision Pro, there's "a general guideline, we recommend no more than 500 thousand triangles for an immersive scene, with 250 thousand for applications in the shared space." --https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2024/10186/?time=147 Is there a revised recommendation for the M5 Apple Vision Pro?
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Nov ’25
Game Controller Input Limitations in visionOS Volumetric Windows - Need Clarification
Game Controller Input Limitations in visionOS Volumetric Windows Hello Apple Developer Community, I'm developing a game for visionOS and have encountered significant limitations with game controller input when using volumetric windows (WindowGroup with .volumetric style). I'd appreciate clarification on whether this is expected behavior and any guidance on best practices. 🧩 Issue Summary When using a DualSense controller with a volumetric window in visionOS, only a subset of controller inputs are available to the app. The remaining inputs appear to be reserved by the system for UI navigation. ✅ Working Inputs (Volumetric Window) D-Pad (all directions) L3 (left thumbstick button click) R3 (right thumbstick button click) Menu button Options button ❌ Not Working Inputs (Volumetric Window) Left thumbstick analog movement (used for UI scrolling instead) Right thumbstick analog movement (used for UI scrolling instead) Face buttons (Cross, Circle, Square, Triangle / A, B, X, Y) Shoulder buttons (L1, R1) Triggers (L2, R2) Key observation: When moving the left thumbstick in a volumetric window, the window's UI scrolls vertically instead of sending input to my app's GameController handlers. Similarly, face buttons seem to be reserved for system UI interactions. ⚙️ Implementation Details I'm using the standard GameController framework: Connect to controller via GCController.controllers() Access extendedGamepad profile Set up valueChangedHandler and pressedChangedHandler for all inputs Handlers confirmed registered via logging Working inputs (D-Pad, L3, R3) trigger immediately and consistently Non-working inputs (thumbsticks, face buttons) never trigger 🧠 Critical Finding: ImmersiveSpace Works Perfectly When testing the exact same code in an ImmersiveSpace (.mixed immersion style), all controller inputs work perfectly: ✅ Both thumbsticks provide full analog input ✅ All face buttons trigger their handlers ✅ All shoulder buttons and triggers work correctly ✅ 100% success rate with no intermittent issues This suggests the issue isn't with my code, but rather how visionOS handles controller input differently between Volumetric Windows and ImmersiveSpace. 🧪 Test Environment I created a minimal test project (Controller-Playground) to isolate the issue: A simple ControllerTester class that registers all GameController handlers A visual UI showing real-time input state No game logic, RealityKit physics, or other complexity Results In volumetric window: Only D-Pad, L3, R3, Menu, Options work In ImmersiveSpace: All inputs work perfectly This confirms the limitation exists at the visionOS platform level, not in app code. 🧰 Attempted Workarounds I tried the following without success: Setting GCSupportsControllerUserInteraction = false in Info.plist Setting UIRequiresFullScreen = true Changing window styles (.plain, .volumetric) Polling vs. handler-based input approaches Various threading models (MainActor, separate thread) Result: The only way to enable full controller support is to switch to ImmersiveSpace. ❓ Questions for Apple Is this input reservation behavior in volumetric windows intended and documented? Are game controllers expected to have limited functionality in volumetric windows while full functionality is reserved for ImmersiveSpace? Is there a way to request full controller input access in a volumetric window, or is ImmersiveSpace the only option for complete controller support? Where can I find official documentation about controller input differences between window types? Are there any APIs or configuration options to disable system controller shortcuts in volumetric windows? 🎯 Impact This limitation has a significant effect on game design and architecture: Volumetric windows offer a multitasking-friendly, less immersive experience ImmersiveSpace provides full controller support but may be more immersive than some games require Games that only need basic D-Pad and button input can work fine in volumetric windows Games requiring analog sticks or face buttons must currently use ImmersiveSpace It would be very helpful if Apple could clarify or reference existing documentation regarding controller input handling in different visionOS window types. If such documentation doesn't exist yet, it might be valuable to include this information in future developer guides or best-practice documents. 🕹 Current Workaround For now, I'm using: D-Pad for character movement (digital 8-direction) R3 (right stick click) as a substitute for the "X" button This setup allows the game to function within a volumetric window, though full controller support still requires ImmersiveSpace. 📄 Request If this is expected behavior, I may have simply missed the relevant documentation — could you please point me to any existing resources that explain this design? If there isn't one yet, it would be great if future visionOS documentation could: Clearly outline controller input behavior across window types Provide guidance on when to use Volumetric Windows vs. ImmersiveSpace for games Consider adding an API option to request full controller access when appropriate If this is not expected behavior, I'm happy to file a detailed bug report with sample code. 💻 System Information visionOS: Latest Simulator Xcode: Latest version Controller: Sony DualSense Framework: GameController (standard extendedGamepad profile) Test project: Minimal reproducible example available Thank you for any clarification or guidance you can provide. This information would be valuable for many developers working on visionOS games.
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Oct ’25
ImagePresentationComponent .spatialStereoImmersive mode not rendering in WindowGroup context
Platform: visionOS 2.6 Framework: RealityKit, SwiftUIComponent: ImagePresentationComponent I’m working with the new ImagePresentationComponent from visionOS 26 and hitting a rendering limitation when switching to .spatialStereoImmersive viewing mode within a WindowGroup context. This is what I’m seeing: Pure immersive space: ImagePresentationComponent with .spatialStereoImmersive mode works perfectly in a standalone ImmersiveSpace Mode switching API: All mode transitions work correctly (logs confirm the component updates) Spatial content: .spatialStereo mode renders correctly in both window and immersive contexts. This is where it’s breaking for me: Window context: When the same RealityView + ImagePresentationComponent is placed inside a WindowGroup (even when that window is floating in a mixed immersive space), switching to .spatialStereoImmersive mode shows no visual change The API calls succeed, state updates correctly, but the immersive content doesn’t render. Apple’s Spatial Gallery demonstrates exactly what I’m trying to achieve: Spatial photos displayed in a window with what feels like horizontal scroll view using system window control bar, etc. Tapping a spatial photo smoothly transitions it to immersive mode in-place. The immersive content appears to “grow” from the original window position by just changing IPC viewing modes. This proves the functionality should be possible, but I can’t determine the correct configuration. So, my question to is: Is there a specific RealityView or WindowGroup configuration required to enable immersive content rendering from window contexts that you know of? Are there bounds/clipping settings that need to be configured to allow immersive content to “break out” of window constraints? Does .spatialStereoImmersive require a specific rendering context that’s not available in windowed RealityView instances? How do you think Apple’s SG app achieves this functionality? For a little more context: All viewing modes are available: [.mono, .spatialStereo, .spatialStereoImmersive] The spatial photos are valid and work correctly in pure immersive space Mixed immersive space is active when testing window context No errors or warnings in console beyond the successful mode switching logs I’m getting Any insights into the proper configuration for window-hosted immersive content
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Aug ’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
WWDC 25 RemoteImmersiveSpace - Support for Passthrough Mode? RealityKit?
This is related to the WWDC presentation, What's new in Metal rendering for immersive apps.. Specifically, the macOS spatial streaming to visionOS feature: For reference: the page in the docs. The presentation demonstrates it using a full immersive space and Metal rendering using compositor services. I'd like clarity on a few things: Is the remote device wireless, or must the visionOS device be connected via a wired connected? Is there a limit to the number of remote devices, and if not, could macOS render different things per remote device simultaneously? Can I also use mixed mode with passthrough enabled, instead of just a fully-immersive mode? Can I use RealityKit instead of Metal? If so, may I have an example, or would someone point to an example?
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Sep ’25
Issue in TabletopKit Sample scene + shared immersive space
Hello Community, I am currently developing an experimental VisionOS app, to investigate the social effects of the new Spatial Persona feature, for my bachelor thesis. My setup includes a simple board game for the participants, in which they can engage with their persona avatars. I tried to use the TabletopKit for this setup, but ran into issues when starting the SharePlay session. When I testes my app, I couldn't see the other spatial persona anymore, despite the green SharePlay button indicating the session started. The other person can see my actions in their version of the app on the board, but can not interact with anything. Also, we are both seat on the default side of the seat. I tried to remove the environment I added, because it doesn't seem to synch with the other player. When I tried the FaceTime feature in the simulator without the environment, I could then see the test robot avatar, but at a totally wrong place. It's seems like it isn't just my environment occluding the seats, but a flaw in the seating process as well. When I tried the FaceTime feature in the simulator on the official test scene (TabletopKit Sample), I got the same incorrect placement and the warning "role(for:inSeatNumber:): The provided role identifier does not match a role in the current template." So my questions are: What needs to be changed so the TabletopKit can handle seating correctly? How can I correctly use immersive scenes in combination with the TabletopKit? I tried to keep the implementation of the TabletopKit example as close as possible, so I think it will enough to look into this codebase for now. I debugged the position of seats and they are placed correctly in front of their equipment. The personas are just not placed on them.
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Mar ’25
Bouncy ball in RealityKit - game
I'm developing a VisionOS app with bouncing ball physics and struggling to achieve natural bouncing behavior using RealityKit's physics system. Despite following Apple's recommended parameters, the ball loses significant energy on each bounce and doesn't behave like a real basketball, tennis ball, or football would. With identical physics parameters (restitution = 1.0), RealityKit shows significant energy loss. I've had to implement a custom physics system to compensate, but I want to use native RealityKit physics. It's impossible to make it work by applying custom impulses. Ball Physics Setup (Following Apple Forum Recommendations) // From PhysicsManager.swift private func createBallEntityRealityKit() -> Entity { let ballRadius: Float = 0.05 let ballEntity = Entity() ballEntity.name = "bouncingBall" // Mesh and material let mesh = MeshResource.generateSphere(radius: ballRadius) var material = PhysicallyBasedMaterial() material.baseColor = .init(tint: .cyan) material.roughness = .float(0.3) material.metallic = .float(0.8) ballEntity.components.set(ModelComponent(mesh: mesh, materials: [material])) // Physics setup from Apple Developer Forums let physics = PhysicsBodyComponent( massProperties: .init(mass: 0.624), // Seems too heavy for 5cm ball material: PhysicsMaterialResource.generate( staticFriction: 0.8, dynamicFriction: 0.6, restitution: 1.0 // Perfect elasticity, yet still loses energy ), mode: .dynamic ) ballEntity.components.set(physics) ballEntity.components.set(PhysicsMotionComponent()) // Collision setup let collisionShape = ShapeResource.generateSphere(radius: ballRadius) ballEntity.components.set(CollisionComponent(shapes: [collisionShape])) return ballEntity } Ground Plane Physics // From GroundPlaneView.swift let groundPhysics = PhysicsBodyComponent( massProperties: .init(mass: 1000), material: PhysicsMaterialResource.generate( staticFriction: 0.7, dynamicFriction: 0.6, restitution: 1.0 // Perfect bounce ), mode: .static ) entity.components.set(groundPhysics) Wall Physics // From WalledBoxManager.swift let wallPhysics = PhysicsBodyComponent( massProperties: .init(mass: 1000), material: PhysicsMaterialResource.generate( staticFriction: 0.7, dynamicFriction: 0.6, restitution: 0.85 // Slightly less than ground ), mode: .static ) wall.components.set(wallPhysics) Collision Detection // From GroundPlaneView.swift content.subscribe(to: CollisionEvents.Began.self) { event in guard physicsMode == .realityKit else { return } let currentTime = Date().timeIntervalSince1970 guard currentTime - lastCollisionTime > 0.1 else { return } if event.entityA.name == "bouncingBall" || event.entityB.name == "bouncingBall" { let normal = event.collision.normal // Distinguish between wall and ground collisions if abs(normal.y) < 0.3 { // Wall bounce print("Wall collision detected") } else if normal.y > 0.7 { // Ground bounce print("Ground collision detected") } lastCollisionTime = currentTime } } Issues Observed Energy Loss: Despite restitution = 1.0 (perfect elasticity), the ball loses ~20-30% energy per bounce Wall Sliding: Ball tends to slide down walls instead of bouncing naturally No Damping Control: Comments mention damping values but they don't seem to affect the physics Change in mass also doesn't do much. Custom Physics System (Workaround) I've implemented a custom physics system that manually calculates velocities and applies more realistic restitution values: // From BouncingBallComponent.swift struct BouncingBallComponent: Component { var velocity: SIMD3<Float> = .zero var angularVelocity: SIMD3<Float> = .zero var bounceState: BounceState = .idle var lastBounceTime: TimeInterval = 0 var bounceCount: Int = 0 var peakHeight: Float = 0 var totalFallDistance: Float = 0 enum BounceState { case idle case falling case justBounced case bouncing case settled } } Is this energy loss expected behavior in RealityKit, even with perfect restitution (1.0)? Are there additional physics parameters (damping, solver iterations, etc.) that could improve bounce behavior? Would switching to Unity be necessary for more realistic ball physics, or am I missing something in RealityKit? Even in the last video here: https://stepinto.vision/example-code/collisions-physics-physics-material/ bounce of the ball is very unnatural - stops after 3-4 bounces. I apply custom impulses, but then if I have walls around the ball, it's almost impossible to make it look natural. I also saw this post https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/759422 and ball is still not bouncing naturally.
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Nov ’25
Photogrammetry Session - new model?
Hi Apple Team, We noticed the following exciting changelog in the latest macOS 26 beta: A new algorithm significantly improves PhotogrammetrySession reconstruction quality of low-texture objects not captured with the ObjectCaptureSession front end. It will be downloaded and cached once in the background when the PhotogrammetrySession is used at runtime. If network isn’t available at that time, the old low quality model will be used until the new one can be downloaded. There is no code change needed to get this improved model. (145220451) However after trying this on the latest beta and running some tests we do not see any differences on objects with low textures such as single coloured surfaces. Is there anything we are missing? the machine is definitely connected to the internet but we have no way of knowing from the logs if the new model is being used? thanks
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Jul ’25
How to Achieve Volumetric Lighting (Light Shafts) in RealityKit on visionOS?
Hello everyone, I am currently developing an experience for visionOS using RealityKit and I would like to achieve volumetric light effects, such as visible light rays or shafts through fog or dust. I found this GitHub project: https://github.com/robcupisz/LightShafts, which demonstrates the kind of visual style I am aiming for. I would like to know if there is a way to create similar effects using RealityKit on visionOS. So far, I have experimented with DirectionalLight, SpotLight, ImageBasedLight, and custom materials (e.g., additive blending on translucent meshes), but none of these approaches can replicate the volumetric light shaft look shown in the repository above. Questions: Is there a recommended technique or workaround in RealityKit to simulate light shafts or volumetric lighting? Is creating a custom mesh (e.g., cone or volume geometry with gradient alpha and additive blending) the only feasible method? Are there any examples, best practices, or sample projects from Apple or other developers that showcase a similar visual style? Any advice or hints would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
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Aug ’25
Can developers use spatial image in third App's Spatial widget
Spatial widget is a new feature of visionos 26. I notice The system’s Photo app can add a Spatial Image in the widget. I wonder if third apps can use spatial image or any 3D content in it's widget? I try to use RealityView in widget and it run with a crash. So does spatial Image in widget only supported by the system Photo app, and not available to developers now?
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Jul ’25
When placing a TextField within a RealityViewAttachment, the virtual keyboard does not appear in front of the user as expected.
Hello, Thank you for your time. I have a question regarding visionOS app development. When placing a SwiftUI TextField inside RealityView.attachments, we found that focusing on the field does not bring up the virtual keyboard in front of the user. Instead, the keyboard appears around the user’s lower abdomen area. However, when placing the same TextField in a regular SwiftUI layer outside of RealityView, the keyboard appears in the correct position as expected. This suggests that the issue is specific to RealityView.attachments. We are currently exploring ways to have the virtual keyboard appear directly in front of the user when using TextField inside RealityViewAttachments. If there is any method to explicitly control the keyboard position or any known workarounds—including alternative UI approaches—we would greatly appreciate your guidance. Best regards, Sadao Tokuyama
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Jul ’25
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
VisionOS26 PresentationComponent not working
I am trying to get the new PresentationComponent working in VisionOS26 as seen in this WWDC video: https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/274/?time=962 (18:29 minutes into video) Here is some other example code but it doesn't work either: https://stepinto.vision/devlogs/project-graveyard-devlog-002/ My simple Text view (that I am adding as a PresentationComponent) does not appear in my RealityView even though the entity is found. Here is a simple example built from an Xcode immersive view default project: struct ImmersiveView: View { @Environment(AppModel.self) var appModel var body: some View { RealityView { content in // Add the initial RealityKit content if let immersiveContentEntity = try? await Entity(named: "Immersive", in: realityKitContentBundle) { content.add(immersiveContentEntity) if let materializedImmersiveContentEntity = try? await Entity(named: "Test", in: realityKitContentBundle) { content.add(materializedImmersiveContentEntity) var presentation = PresentationComponent( configuration: .popover(arrowEdge: .bottom), content: Text("Hello, World!") .foregroundColor(.red) ) presentation.isPresented = true materializedImmersiveContentEntity.components.set(presentation) } } } } } Here is the Apple reference: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/realitykit/presentationcomponent
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Jul ’25
Look to Scroll
Hello! I’m excited to see that Look to Scroll has been included in visionOS 26 Beta. I’m aiming to achieve a feature where the user’s gaze at a specific edge automatically scrolls to that position. However, I’ve experimented with ScrollView and haven’t been able to trigger this functionality. Could you advise if additional API modifiers are necessary? Thank you!
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Jul ’25
Cannot extract imagePair from generated Spatial Photos
Hi I am trying to implement something simple as people can share their Spatial Photos with others (just like this post). I encountered the same issue with him, but his answer doesn't help me out here. Briefly speaking, I am using CGImgaeSoruce to extract paired leftImage and rightImage from one fetched spatial photo let photos = PHAsset.fetchAssets(with: .image, options: nil) // enumerating photos .... if asset.mediaSubtypes.contains(PHAssetMediaSubtype.spatialMedia) { spatialAsset = asset } // other code show below I can fetch left and right images from native Spatial Photo (taken by Apple Vision Pro or iPhone 15+), but it didn't work on generated spatial photo (2D -> 3D feat in Photos). // imageCount is 1 when it comes to generated spatial photo let imageCount = CGImageSourceGetCount(source) I searched over the net and someone says the generated version is having a depth image instead of left/right pair. But still I cannot extract any depth image from imageSource. The full code below, the imagePair extraction will stop at "no groups found": func extractPairedImage(phAsset: PHAsset, completion: @escaping (StereoImagePair?) -> Void) { let options = PHImageRequestOptions() options.isNetworkAccessAllowed = true options.deliveryMode = .highQualityFormat options.resizeMode = .none options.version = .original return PHImageManager.default().requestImageDataAndOrientation(for: phAsset, options: options) { imageData, _, _, _ in guard let imageData, let imageSource = CGImageSourceCreateWithData(imageData as CFData, nil) else { completion(nil) return } let stereoImagePair = stereoImagePair(from: imageSource) completion(stereoImagePair) } } } func stereoImagePair(from source: CGImageSource) -> StereoImagePair? { guard let properties = CGImageSourceCopyProperties(source, nil) as? [CFString: Any] else { return nil } let imageCount = CGImageSourceGetCount(source) print(String(format: "%d images found", imageCount)) guard let groups = properties[kCGImagePropertyGroups] as? [[CFString: Any]] else { /// function returns here print("no groups found") return nil } guard let stereoGroup = groups.first(where: { let groupType = $0[kCGImagePropertyGroupType] as! CFString return groupType == kCGImagePropertyGroupTypeStereoPair }) else { return nil } guard let leftIndex = stereoGroup[kCGImagePropertyGroupImageIndexLeft] as? Int, let rightIndex = stereoGroup[kCGImagePropertyGroupImageIndexRight] as? Int, let leftImage = CGImageSourceCreateImageAtIndex(source, leftIndex, nil), let rightImage = CGImageSourceCreateImageAtIndex(source, rightIndex, nil), let leftProperties = CGImageSourceCopyPropertiesAtIndex(source, leftIndex, nil), let rightProperties = CGImageSourceCopyPropertiesAtIndex(source, rightIndex, nil) else { return nil } return (leftImage, rightImage, self.identifier) } Any suggestion? Thanks visionOS 2.4
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Jun ’25