Available Now! Apple’s Vision Pro SDK

Apple has announced that its visionOS software development kit is now available, allowing 3D parties to begin building content for the Vision Pro. The SDK is available at least half a year before the headset officially goes on sale in the U.S., priced at $3,500. The company is banking on developer interest to help drive excitement around the system, which was met with a lukewarm reception when it was unveiled at WWDC earlier this month. Content has been a major sticking point for years of VR and AR development, but Apple is no doubt banking on a stocked App Store by the time the system arrives in early 2024. The SDK is built on top of the same basic framework as Apple’s various other operating systems, utilizing familiar dev tools, including Xcode, SwiftUI, RealityKit, ARKit and TestFlight. The company is clearly hoping to lower the barrier of entry for existing developers. The path of least resistance seems to be effectively porting existing software over to the new platform (see also the company’s Game Porting Tool Kit for the Mac and iPad).