Apple still has a lot of secret apps for Vision Pro in the works

A new report claims that Apple Vision Pro was meant to be demoed with fitness apps, games, and even running Mac apps directly, but Apple only showed what little is working now.

When Apple unveiled its long-awaited Vision Pro headset, it did so with demonstrations of many apps and tools — but not the ones that were expected. Prior to launch, there were reports of gaming and fitness apps for the headset, and ones to do with health and wellness.

According to The Information, Apple chose not to include these and many more apps because they are simply not working yet. Vision Pro apps and functions said to have been either postponed or dropped completely include:

• Tai Chi app
• Nike workout
• Yoga
• Gaming where precision control is needed
• Running Mac apps
• Augmented or 3D Apple TV+ content

Much of the health or fitness functions are on pause because they rely on full-body tracking. The Information cites two unspecified sources who said the planned tracking isn't working.

The publication reports seeing screenshots of a Slack conversation in which Apple told developers that full-body tracking will be available when the device ships. It's a reason that the Vision Pro has two downward-facing cameras, so that it can, for instance, measure breathing by monitoring a user's chest.

As well as software applications, there have reportedly been hardware issues that have slowed down the development of the headset. Face cushions have been researched, for instance, as they could be better suited in high-intensity workouts, though it's not clear how they would have been used.

Similarly, the Vision Pro lacks what The Information calls "brow cams." It's claimed that the headset had been planned to more accurately depict a user's facial expressions, instead of Vision Pro only showing a CGI version of the user's eyes.

According to people cited as being former team members at Apple, fitness was was also removed from the demo because of other hardware concerns. Reportedly, the external battery pack was considered cumbersome, and the front glass of the headset is too fragile to survive a wearer bumping into walls.

Communication apps

One potentially significant omission from Apple's demo was a feature that is said to have been called "co-presence." This would have made it possible for the headset wearer to talk to someone far away, as if they were in the same room — but it required full-body tracking.

Nonetheless, if correct, this would have been Apple's answer to one of the criticisms of the Apple Vision Pro headset. People including Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg have accused Apple of trying to isolate headset wearers from the world, and people, around them.

The rumors of such features do fit with a previous claim that Apple was launching the Vision Pro sooner than its own engineers recommended.