Apple releases Vision Pro’s first software update

Macworld

Apple’s Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, which is currently on pre-order and will hit the shops on February 2, has already received its first software update.

According to the Twitter/X account iSoftware Updates, visionOS 1.0.1 was released Wednesday. It has the official designation 21N311.

visionOS 1.0.1 (21N311) has been released. pic.twitter.com/gW9ZKQ43DV— iSoftware Updates (@iSWUpdates) January 24, 2024

visionOS is an entirely new operating system–Apple describes it as the company’s “first spatial operating system”–created for Vision Pro. The first beta came out last June, and Apple’s software engineers have clearly done a great deal of development work since then.

It might seem odd for a hardware product to get a software update before it even launches, but this is more common than you might think. Weary gamers frequently have to install updates on brand-new consoles before they can think about playing actual games, and even fresh-from-the-box iPhones and iPads are quite likely to have new versions of iOS or iPadOS available for download when you power them up. There is inevitably a gap between products being put in their boxes and handed over to customers, and if a significant security flaw is spotted in that time, or the development team completes work on an important new feature, then it makes sense to address that in a day-one update.

We don’t know what this particular update includes, since Apple hasn’t released any notes. But the version number structure (X.X.X rather than X.X) suggests it isn’t anything huge; probably just some minor bug fixes. The first major update is likely to be visionOS 2.0, which is expected to be announced at WWDC 2024.

Virtual Reality