Apple Is Already Working On visionOS 2.0
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The Vision Pro hasn’t even gotten into the hands of anyone other than early reviewers yet, and it seems that Apple already has a major software update in the works for its new spatial computing headset.
While details are extremely sparse, the folks at AppleInsider were tipped off to the new version by an anonymous developer who noticed “visionOS 2.0.0” references in their back-end server logs.
The references would have come from devices running visionOS 2.0 that were running the app belonging to the developer in question. The specific reason these may have shown up is unclear, but they’re almost certainly a result of Apple employees testing the new visionOS release inside the walls of Apple Park.
It’s possible this is being used to review third-party visionOS apps before adding to the Vision Pro App Store, but that seems unlikely as the App Store review team would need to check those apps against the released version of visionOS that’s actually going to be on everyone’s headset. After all, it’s highly unlikely we’ll see a visionOS 2.0 release arrive tomorrow.
Most probably, visionOS 2.0 is being developed to be showcased at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which is now only a little over four months away. It tracks that Apple would need to have that in the “alpha” stages of development already if it plans to release a developer beta in June.
Some visionOS 1.0 Updates, Too
Instead, it seems Apple already has a visionOS 1.0.2 update waiting in the wings to land on the new headsets after eager early adopters start setting them up tomorrow. This was first discovered and shared on X by Nicolás Álvarez, self-proclaimed “git repository surgeon,” and later confirmed with an entry on Apple’s security releases page.
Specifically, Apple says visionOS 1.0.2 fixes a WebKit security vulnerability that may have led to arbitrary code execution. That’s likely the only noteworthy change in the new release, as sub-point releases typically only provide security and bug fixes.
About a week ago, Apple also pushed out a visionOS 1.0.1 update for developers and early reviewers, which the company says also included the same security fix for developers. However, the Vision Pro units that folks will be unwrapping tomorrow will still include visionOS 1.0.0 and be directly updated to visionOS 1.0.2. Presumably, the 1.0.1 release was an interim one for developers, and Apple still had some polishing to do.
The visionOS 1.0.2 release has a build number of 21N323, which is a small but noticeable increment from visionOS 1.0.1’s build 21N311 — and definitely a more significant jump than this week’s re-released iOS 17.4 beta, where only one letter changed, going from 21E5184i to 21E5184k. For comparison, the final visionOS 1.0 beta had a build number of 21N305. This suggests a few more things have changed in visionOS 1.0.2, but they’re still likely just minor fixes and housekeeping changes.
The bottom line is that if you’re expecting to have a Vision Pro in your hands tomorrow, you’ll want to make sure you check for the latest software update to ensure that you’re protected against any possible vulnerabilities and that there are no other creeping bugs — something that’s always a concern for a bleeding-edge device such as this.
