Apple and Sony are collaborating to make the PSVR2 controllers compatible with the Apple Vision Pro. This collaboration aims to enhance the gaming possibilities of the VR headset and enable more precise control.
What exactly is planned? According to reports from The Verge and heise online, the focus of the collaboration is on developing native support for the PSVR2 controllers on the Vision Pro. The VR controllers are currently only available in a bundle with Sony’s PlayStation VR2 and are characterized by their precise control. Apple wants to leverage this technology to optimize navigation in visionOS and interaction in applications like Final Cut Pro or Adobe Photoshop.
This seems like a smart collaboration, as Apple’s mixed-reality headset has so far been exclusively focused on eye tracking and gesture control.
By the way: A mixed-reality headset (MR headset) combines elements of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). It allows users to display virtual content in the real world (AR) as well as fully immerse themselves in virtual worlds (VR). The headset switches between these modes depending on the application or integrates them.
If reality is not just adapted but recreated, it could even earn money – as shown here:
A productive cooperation of two big players
What advantages arise from this? For owners of the Vision Pro, the collaboration means an improved gaming experience, as the number of native visionOS games is currently quite limited. Additionally, the controllers could offer more precise control when navigating in visionOS as well as in professional applications like Final Cut Pro and Adobe Photoshop. Through the planned controller integration, the input possibilities can thus be significantly increased.
The PSVR2 controllers provide haptic feedback that significantly enhances the immersion factor. Combined with the eye-tracking technology of the Vision Pro, this could revolutionize the user experience. Bloomberg also emphasizes that Sony has been working on integrating this technology for months, and Apple is providing third-party developers with tools to utilize the PSVR2 controllers in apps and games.
What is the state of gaming support on the Vision Pro? Despite these developments, the question remains whether Apple can strengthen its position in the gaming market through collaboration with Sony and establish the Vision Pro as a serious alternative. The high price, limited availability, and expandable usage scope are against this. The latter can at least be improved through acceptable controller integration.
Apple’s MR glasses are therefore somewhat to be understood as a prototype model. It is in the nature of technological innovation that the first batches of a device, belonging to a completely new product category, have not yet proven to be fully mature. For example, the functionality of the first iPhones, iPads, and Macs seems relatively limited in retrospect. The Vision Pro is no exception.
Nonetheless, the strong interest from the community – for example, through Kickstarter projects like Surreal Touch controllers – shows that there is a demand for high-quality gaming solutions for Apple’s mixed-reality product (via Kickstarter). However, Apple itself has no plans for its own VR controllers.
In developing new products, time and prototypes are needed. Normally, these are not accessible to the public. Yet occasionally it does happen: A YouTuber bought a used iPhone without the Apple logo in China: It was a unique prototype with haptic buttons
