Apple has announced that a new App Store will launch with Apple Vision Pro, featuring apps and games built for visionOS,” as well as hundreds of thousands of iPad and iPhone apps that run great on visionOS too.”
The US$3,499 (and up) Vision Pro was previewed at June’s Apple Worldwide Developer Conference. However, it won’t be available until early 2024 — and then, apparently, only in limited quantities.
As for the upcoming app store, Apple says users can access their favorite iPad and iPhone apps side by side with new visionOS apps on the infinite canvas of Apple Vision Pro. Since most iPad and iPhone apps run on visionOS as is, the company tells developers that their app experiences can easily extend to Apple Vision Pro from day one — with no additional work required.
Starting this fall, an upcoming developer beta release of visionOS will include the App Store. By default, developers’ iPad and/or iPhone apps will be published automatically on the App Store on Apple Vision Pro. Most frameworks available in iPadOS and iOS are also included in visionOS, which means nearly all iPad and iPhone apps can run on visionOS, unmodified.
In the case that an app requires a capability that is unavailable on Apple Vision Pro, App Store Connect will indicate that your app isn’t compatible and it won’t be made available. To make an app available, developers can provide alternative functionality, or update its UIRequireDeviceCapabilities. If developers need to edit an existing app’s availability, they can do so at any time in App Store Connect.
To see an app in action, developers can use the visionOS simulator in Xcode 15 beta. The simulator lets them interact with and easily test most of your app’s core functionality. To run and test an app on an Apple Vision Pro device, developers can submit an app for a compatibility evaluation or sign up for a developer lab.
Apple tells developers that “if you want to take your app to the next level, you can make your app experience feel more natural on visionOS by building your app with the visionOS SDK.” An app will adopt the standard visionOS system appearance and developers can add elements, such as 3D content tuned for eyes and hands input. To learn how to build an entirely new app or game that takes advantage of the unique and immersive capabilities of visionOS, developers should check out Apple’s design and development resources.
Article provided with permission from AppleWorld.Today