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While it’s widely been reported that Apple’s upcoming Reality Pro headset will have an App Store with third-party apps, Apple may have more ambitious plans. According to The Information, Apple wants to allow “people who don’t know computer code” to make apps for the headset… using Siri.
The report, which cites “four people who have worked on the headset,” says that this would be an “easy way for users” of the headset to “build their own augmented reality apps” and then release them on the App Store.
The report says that people would be able to use Siri to build an AR app, asking the assistant to help build something based on real-life objects, without having to do all of the design from scratch. This includes the ability to “scan and import real-world objects into the headset so they can be accurately represented in 3D and behave as they would in real life.”
With the software tools, Apple hopes that even people who don’t know computer code could tell the headset, via the Siri voice assistant, to build an AR app that could then be made available via Apple’s App Store for others to download. The tool, for example, could allow users to build an app with virtual animals moving around a room and over or around real-life objects without the need to design the animal from scratch, program its animations and calculate its movement in a 3D space with obstacles.
This is similar to features already offered by headsets from Meta. The Quest headsets, for example, have an app called Horizon Worlds that allows users to build 3D environments without coding. Additionally, features similar to this have already appeared on the iPhone as part of Apple’s other augmented reality and virtually reality work.
As has been previously reported by Bloomberg, Apple is also working on its own AR content for the Reality Pro headset. This will extend beyond traditional TV shows and movies. Today’s report from The Information adds that Apple wants content that emphasizes “health and wellness,” such as apps that help users with meditation and fitness.
People familiar with Apple’s content strategy for the headset say Apple executives are emphasizing health and wellness including proposals for AR apps that assist with meditation and exercise. One early AR demo allowed users to sit inside a Zen garden, the four people said.
Another early Apple demo for executives allowed users to walk through the Dr. Seuss book “Oh, the Places You’ll Go” by blending its fantastical environment with the real world, according to three people familiar with it.
Apple’s Reality Pro headset is reportedly set to be announced sometime this spring, with a launch to consumers happening later this fall. Apple hopes to release support for creating apps via Siri at the same time as the headset itself.
9to5Mac’s Take
It’s easy to take jabs at the idea of Siri being used to create AR and VR apps for the Reality Pro headset, and some of those jabs are absolutely warranted. To me, however, it sounds more like Siri would be used as the initial interface for beginning the process, then Apple would redirect users to other areas of the headset’s operating system to continue the process.
This is also another example of Apple being able to take the AR and VR work it’s already done on the iPhone and apply it to the headset. The Object Capture API, for example, allows users to capture objects and turn them into 3D models in just a few minutes. It’s easy to see the relationship between this and what’s being reported for the Reality Pro headset.
The more we learn about Reality Pro, the more intrigued I become. I was skeptical of the idea at first, but as always, it seems like Apple has some interesting and powerful features in store. Today’s report from The Information combined with a report from Bloomberg on Monday, paints a good picture of Apple’s overall ambitions.
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