Apple Vision Pro just received its biggest software update since the the mixed reality headset launched last month. Available now, visionOS 1.1 brings improvements to Persona, among additional updates across a number of the Vision Pro's core features.
While we've been enjoying the best Vision Pro apps and finding new ways to explore spatial computing, the one flagship feature we've have some hesitation with is Persona. Persona is an animated digital avatar meant to represent you in FaceTime calls or video meetings you take when using Vision Pro. If that sounds a little creepy, that's because it is.
That said, those feelings can be chocked up to our Persona not necessarily capturing our likeness and facial expressions in a realistic-enough manner. With visionOS 1.1, Persona is still in beta, but the software has been refined to make the avatars look more life-like.
But perhaps more importantly, visionOS 1.1 lets you capture a Persona hands-free. Originally, you had to be able to hold your Vision Pro in front of your face with your hands to complete the Persona capture process. This obviously poses complications from an accessibility standpoint for those who have trouble lifting and holding the Vision Pro out. But now, you're able to place the headset on a surface at eye level, or have someone else hold it for you to capture your Persona.
In addition to these Persona improvements, this visionOS update also lets you delete Apple's native system apps from the Home View, should you wish to curate your default app options. The headset's software supports for iMessage Contact Key Verification going forward, too. Otherwise, visionOS 1.1 introduces some refinements to closed captions, the virtual keyboard, Mac Virtual Display, and captive Wi-Fi networks.
There are still some apps (a.k.a. Neflix and YouTube) we'd like to see on Vision Pro. But if we continue to get a steady flow of software updates, it leads us to believe this year's Worldwide Developers Conference will deliver a full Vision Pro software overhaul via visionOS 2. It would likely come alongside the software refreshes to Apple's other devices, but we'll have to wait and see.
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