Ryan Christoffel, reporting for 9to5Mac:

Apple released the latest iOS 18.4 and visionOS 2.4 betas today. Beta 2 arrives with a brand new app on each platform: ‘Apple Vision Pro’ is the newest iPhone app, and ‘Spatial Gallery’ is new to Vision Pro.

The new ‘Apple Vision Pro’ app on iPhone offers a dedicated home to:

  • view your Vision Pro’s model number, software version, and serial number
  • access tips and the Vision Pro user guide
  • and discover new and recent Vision Pro content, such as immersive videos, apps and games, and more…

From Apple Newsroom:

With Spatial Gallery, users will enjoy breathtaking and intimate moments spanning art, culture, entertainment, lifestyle, nature, sports, and travel, with new content released regularly. At launch, users can discover remarkable perspectives from photographers like Jonpaul Douglass and Samba Diop; new stories and experiences from iconic brands including Cirque du Soleil, Red Bull, and Porsche; behind-the-scenes moments from Apple Originals like Disclaimer, Severance, and Shrinking; and special moments from top artists.

Finally, there is some new content for Apple Vision Pro. Neither of these apps change the experience of using visionOS — which still lacks experiences and entertainment — but it’s a step in the right direction. This is the first major visionOS update since the ultra-wide Mac Virtual Display feature from last fall; visionOS 2.4 also adds Apple Intelligence, which is interesting to exactly zero people. I poked around in the Apple Vision Pro iOS app — installed by default for people on the iOS beta with an Apple Vision Pro signed into their Apple account — and I think it’s well-made and helpful. Apple realizes it’s cumbersome to strap on the headset just to check if there’s anything new to watch, so the app allows users to add immersive content to their watchlist and download apps for later use. I like the idea, and over time, as more content is added, I feel like it’ll be handy to add things throughout the week and put the headset on over the weekend to experience saved content.

The “Spatial Gallery” is a bit of a mixed bag, but it reminds me of Apple TV+ when it first launched and had next to no compelling content. Sure, perhaps the idea of “Apple Original” visionOS-specific content isn’t appealing now, but in the future, I can see this as being a great place to view immersive video clips and photos. Maybe the app could even be used to live stream Apple events, but that might be wishful thinking. A few years ago, Apple shipped a companion game to “For All Mankind” using the augmented reality feature on iOS, and I can imagine something similar coming to the Spatial Gallery app. (Just imagine sitting in the Macrodata Refinement office from “Severance.”)

Moreover, I want Spatial Gallery to become a place for user-generated content. I don’t expect or even want it to be a social network, but I think people should be able to sell their own visionOS environments like apps or iMessage sticker packs on iOS. This opens up the opportunity for not only third-party developers to make their own themed environments — Disney+’s come to mind — but also independent creators and photographers, who have to resort to shipping panoramas that can only be opened in the foreground. Apple’s environments, while serene, are limited, and it’s not like the company is shipping new ones with every visionOS update. Much like games and apps, environments should be an additional, productivity-focused layer of interaction on visionOS.

I’m really just writing this to express some positivity toward Apple Vision Pro. This is the first update in a year worth celebrating, and while it’s no live sports subscription or YouTube app, it’s something. Is Apple Vision Pro any better after this update? No — nobody should buy it. I’m severely regretting purchasing mine because, again, there’s not much to do on it, comfort hurdles aside. Really, I want Apple to give users a reason to put the headset on at least once a week. There aren’t that many of us, but if all of us stop using Apple Vision Pro, the product line is all but dead. Once a product has reached stasis, it’s very hard to resurrect it, so Apple needs to start adding content that’s worth sparing a few minutes of neck pain. (And no, Apple Intelligence shouldn’t be part of the plan.)

People made fun of the original 2010 iPad for being a “bigger iPhone,” and while that was true at the time — or even now — it sold like hotcakes because there was a thriving app ecosystem. Instapaper, Kindle, The New York Times, YouTube, Netflix, and so many more apps that benefited from the larger screen came to the iPad when people wanted the iOS experience they knew and loved to fit more content. The iPad, in my eyes, revitalized online media. It made e-books worthwhile, television streaming became more common, and online newspaper subscriptions began to thrive. If Apple wanted, visionOS could be the next frontier in computing. It could replace movie theaters — sorry, Sean Baker — and usher in a new era of online media. I wrote about this last October when the “Submerged” short film debuted on visionOS, and it’s even truer now.