Apple Unveils Vision Pro’s New Persistent Widgets for VisionOS 26

Hey, so I was checking out what Apple has been up to lately, and — guess what? — they’ve been cooking up this crazy new widget system for Vision Pro. Yeah, sounds fancy, right? Apparently, these widgets stick to your walls now, like an annoying poster from college you can’t get rid of. They don’t float around when you move your head, which could be a total game changer or maybe not? Depends on your vibe.

I was watching this dev session from WWDC — okay, didn’t really understand all of it, but it got interesting. They’re saying these widgets will stay put even if you restart the headset. Why do I feel like if my life could have such permanence, I’d have it all figured out? Anyway, they can be like anything from a weather forecast to a clock that you… somehow didn’t know you needed on your wall.

But here’s the kicker — they can use widgets from iOS and iPadOS. Think of it like recycling in tech form. Apple added these new options to WidgetKit too. Sounds super technical and all, but honestly, what’s the point? Maybe it’s important, maybe it isn’t. I’m just here scrolling through pictures, and it hit me. The widgets have this ‘paper’ and ‘glass’ overlay thing. So, like, depending on the lighting in your room, they adjust? Reminds me of mood rings from the ’90s. Or was it early 2000s? I forget.

For you artsy folks, they even made it so you can have an album art show up on your wall. Click it, and bam, it plays. Visualize posters that come to life. Actually, hold up, that sounds great or like a nightmare, depending. Anyway, moving along.

And guess what — they did a makeover on the Clock widget. More details, new designs, the works. Honestly, if only every part of life could just reinvent itself for the better, right?

These widgets aren’t just sitting pretty. They’re like, part of your room. You can place them on the wall, and they don’t just float in space as I do at my existential crisis group. They even cast shadows. How real is that?

Developers — you know, the code wizards — are getting all sorts of new toys to play with. And we, the humble users, get to tweak how the widgets look. Want it bigger or smaller? Done. Change the colors? Sure. Want it to feel more like a part of the wall? Easy. They really thought this through and I can’t help but appreciate the effort, even if I’ll probably keep mine really basic.

These things snap into neat little grids. I don’t know about you, but the idea of automatic tidy-up is my kind of thing. My desk could take some notes. And yes, you can interact with them. Tick off your to-do list by just pinching the air like a hyper-intelligent crab. I mean, what a time to be alive, right?

It’s all in the developer beta now, with a public release expected soon. So, I guess get ready to argue with your walls on where the widgets should go. Or maybe that’s just me?

Anyway, that’s what’s up with Apple. Who knows, maybe it’s the start of something big. Or maybe I’m just hyping it up for no reason. Who knows!