Apple’s Vision Pro hardware, last updated in the fall with an M5 chip, is getting new software upgrades with the latest version of VisionOS announced at WWDC. A big one is Visual Intelligence, camera-aware AI, at long last. It’s exactly the sort of thing Apple’s expected smart glasses, likely arriving next year, are going to need.

VisionOS 27 can be previewed now in a developer beta, and there are a handful of little updates that look ready to improve how the headset works this year.

The Vision-focused AI tools are what interest me most, though. They’re part of Apple’s new Siri-focused AI updates announced at this year’s WWDC conference. Asking Siri will allow you to see things on apps you have open on VisionOS, but Siri will also be able to recognize things in the room with you, too. 

This is the same type of camera-aware AI that Google and Samsung already have in the Samsung Galaxy XR headset, which arrived last fall. But in the case of VisionOS 27, Apple’s not doing any sort of live mode for Siri that can continuously see what’s going on like Gemini Live can. Instead, Siri just visually snapshots what’s in front of your eyes in that moment by tracking your gaze.

VisionOS 27 has some other interesting additions, although they’re unlikely to be enough to win over newcomers. Personal panoramic photos can be converted in 3D immersive backgrounds. There’s also a new way to preview 3D objects from Mac apps inside Vision Pro, a way of virtually extending apps as part of a creative workflow. 

Even so, Apple still hasn’t developed any new core apps for Vision Pro, or made any headway in enabling the Apple Watch, iPhone or iPad to work like connected Vision accessories, something I hoped would happen. Apple’s still leaning on Macs as the best computer companions for the $3500 headset.

While many people have reported that the Vision Pro’s life is ending in the face of a shift to smart glasses in the next few years, the Vision Pro’s hardware can clearly do things no glasses could dream of anytime soon. But I’ve been waiting for Apple’s spatial computer to make the most of its processing power, sensors and high price tag, and these additions are welcome, and these updates are mostly incremental except for Siri.

I’ll be trying out the developer beta soon, and writing up some thoughts about it.