Hey, so I was at WWDC this week, and Apple dropped this whole thing about Vision Pro widgets for visionOS 26. It’s kind of wild — you can slap these widgets on your walls or tables, and they just stay put. Like, even if you reboot the thing. Magic? Probably not, but cool? Definitely.
So, Apple’s got this dev session going on, right? They’re diving deep into how these things work. Widgets aren’t just floating around aimlessly like before — nah, they stick to your walls, almost like they belong there. It’s like Apple wants them to blend right in with your room. I mean, picture this: you’ve got your weather widget chilling above your desk, and it’s just there. Always. Maybe reminding you it’s about to rain — ugh, typical.
What’s nifty is that they’re reusing old widgets from iOS and iPadOS. I guess it’s like recycling… for tech? And there’s more: Vision Pro’s WidgetKit now lets you mess with sizes or aspect ratios. Which is great for anyone who ever stared at a too-small calendar and wanted to scream.
Oh, and check this — you choose how they look with these ‘paper’ or ‘glass’ overlays. Paper dims with your lights. Glass? Well, it shines no matter what. I wonder if the glass was Apple’s way of saying, “Hey, don’t forget about me!” when you’re wandering around the room.
Then there’s this whole proximity thing. Get closer, and it’s like, “Surprise! More info!” Like weather details up in your face. My personal fave? This album poster widget — click it, music plays. Suddenly the wall is your own little DJ.
But wait, clocks got an upgrade too. More designs, more details… for people who stare at clocks, waiting for… I dunno, something interesting to happen?
Apple’s widgets fit in so well, you could almost trip over them. I mean, they cast shadows! Cast. Shadows. Almost like Apple doesn’t want us to forget the difference between the real world and the digital. It’s kind of sweet, in a tech-obsessed way.
Oh, and let’s talk about customization. Widgets aren’t stuck in one size — you can play with how big they are, make them pop out or sink in, like art pieces, or window holes leading to who-knows-where. Tweak the frame thickness, choose your colors. Snap them into a neat grid because, apparently, chaos on your wall isn’t trendy.
Anyway, the widgets are interactive, sort of like apps that play peek-a-boo. Tap on them, pinch them, coax them into doing what you want. If they don’t have buttons? They just bounce you over to the app. Handy.
Catch is, they’re only in the VisionOS 26 dev beta for now. Public launch is this fall. Just enough time to figure out if I wanna cover every visible surface in digital Post-its.
Who’s gonna try it first?
