visionos-development

name	visionos-development
description	visionOS patterns, APIs, and spatial computing conventions. Use when building apps for Apple Vision Pro — provides scene types, RealityKit ECS, ARKit providers, gesture handling, and visionOS 26 updates.

visionOS Development Reference

When working with visionOS, follow these patterns and conventions.

Scene Types

WindowGroup          → 2D SwiftUI window in shared space
.windowStyle(.volumetric) → bounded 3D container
ImmersiveSpace       → full environment control (.mixed / .progressive / .full)

Only one ImmersiveSpace can be open system-wide. Handle .error from openImmersiveSpace.

RealityView (SwiftUI ↔ RealityKit bridge)

RealityView { content in
    if let model = try? await ModelEntity(named: "robot.usdz") {
        content.add(model)
    }
} update: { content in
    // Runs when SwiftUI state changes
}

Making Entities Interactive

Three components required — without all three, gestures won't work:

entity.components.set(InputTargetComponent())
entity.components.set(HoverEffectComponent())
entity.generateCollisionShapes(recursive: true)

Gestures

• SpatialTapGesture — eye focus + pinch
• DragGesture — move entities
• MagnifyGesture — scale
• RotateGesture3D — rotate

ARKit (Full Space only)

let session = ARKitSession()
try await session.run([
    WorldTrackingProvider(),
    HandTrackingProvider(),
    PlaneDetectionProvider()
])

Providers: WorldTracking, HandTracking, PlaneDetection, SceneReconstruction, ImageTracking, CameraFrame (enterprise/visionOS 26).

World Anchors

let anchor = WorldAnchor(originFromAnchorTransform: transform)
try await worldTracking.addAnchor(anchor)
// Persists across sessions automatically

Spatial Audio

• AmbientAudioComponent — non-directional
• SpatialAudioComponent — positional 3D
• ChannelAudioComponent — stereo/surround

Gotchas

1. ARKit features require ImmersiveSpace — don't work in windows/volumes
2. CollisionComponent mandatory for gestures — call generateCollisionShapes(recursive: true)
3. Volumes are bounded — content clips at edges
4. No direct camera access without enterprise license (relaxing in visionOS 26)
5. Coordinate systems differ: SwiftUI=points, RealityKit=meters, ARKit=meters from origin
6. Simulator can't test hand/eye tracking — real device required
7. 90Hz render target — heavy shaders cause judder

visionOS 26

• CoordinateSpace3D — unified coordinate conversion
• 90Hz hand tracking (was 30Hz)
• Stereo camera access without enterprise license
• SharePlay shared world anchors
• SurfaceAlignment — snap to detected surfaces
• Bottom-aligned volumes, world-aligned volumes
• contentCaptureProtected — DRM content protection

For deeper information: rlm_search(query="...", project="visionos-development") Full expertise: ~/.claude/research/visionos-development/expertise.md