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Apple is handing out units of the Vision Pro mixed-reality headset to a select group of developers in preparation for its 2024 launch. This marks the first time people outside of Apple will get their hands on the headset.
The headset is part of a new Vision Pro developers kit program that aims to help developers create and refine apps for the device. Apple wants to ensure that there will be a variety of apps available for users when the device launches.
The rules do not stop there. The developers cannot let anyone else access, view, or handle the hardware, including family, friends, roommates, or household employees. They cannot discuss the hardware publicly or on social media. Apple reserves the right to request a list of staff who are authorised to work on the device.
Apple representatives will also monitor the developers and offer code reviews to software makers and companies with access to the hardware.
Apple hopes that the developers will work on porting VR apps from other platforms and building new apps exclusive to the Vision Pro. The company says it is prioritising app makers who want to leverage the new hardware’s capabilities, rather than simply adapting existing iPad apps to the device.
For developers who do not receive a loaned unit, Apple says it will also allow some developers access to the hardware at “labs” in cities such as London, Shanghai, and Tokyo.
Apple unveiled the Vision Pro, its new virtual reality product that the company calls its first “spatial computer,” in June. It is Apple’s first major new product since the Apple Watch in 2014. The headset uses advanced cameras and sensors to blend the real world and virtual objects inside the headset’s high-definition screens mounted close to the user’s eye.
