Apple's new Vision Pro headset can scan a user's face and use advanced machine learning to create a photorealistic "Persona" of them for video calls. And in a future visionOS update, these avatars will become even more realistic.
Spatial Persona on Vision Pro
In its Platforms State of the Union video for developers this week, Apple announced that it is working on "Spatial Personas" that will allow Vision Pro users to "break out of the familiar FaceTime tile and feel more present, like they are gathered in the same physical space." Spatial Personas will have a transparent background and be able to display more movement and body language for a more lifelike experience.
A regular Persona on Vision Pro
Spatial Personas will be available on FaceTime calls, including for SharePlay sessions.
"In a SharePlay session, Spatial Personas let you feel present with others in a way technology has never enabled before," said Apple, in a related WWDC video. "You can look your friends in the eye, express yourself naturally with movement and body language, and best of all, enjoy a shared activity together using your app."
Apple said a developer preview of Spatial Personas will be available later this year, but it did not indicate when the feature will be publicly released. Vision Pro does not launch until early 2024 in the U.S. and will be priced at $3,499.
Apple today provided developers with the first betas of upcoming watchOS 26.5, tvOS 26.5, and visionOS 26.5 betas for testing purposes. The software comes a week after Apple launched the 26.4 versions of each platform.
The software updates are available through the Settings app on each device, and because these are developer betas, a free developer account is required.
There's no word on...
Apple Vision Pro owners have a new Apple Immersive video available to watch from today. "Debut at the BBC Proms" is a full classical music concert filmed at the Royal Albert Hall during the 2025 Proms season, courtesy of BBC Arts.
Filmed by Livewire Pictures using Blackmagic's URSA Cine Immersive cameras, the experience follows Austrian piano sensation Lukas Sternath as he takes to the stage ...
Apple today provided developers with the second betas of upcoming watchOS 26.5, tvOS 26.5, and visionOS 26.5 betas for testing purposes. The software comes two weeks after Apple released the first betas for each platform.
The software updates are available through the Settings app on each device, and because these are developer betas, a free developer account is required.
There's no word ...
By all means let’s combine “Spatial Personas” with “Personal Voice” and then our AI-generated images and sounds can just talk to each other over FaceTime long after we’re dead.
This is an impressive forward-thinking technology but I'm not a fan of 3D Spatial Personas'. It just looks creepy. No matter who it's going to be. It will always remind me of Zuckerberg.
