Apple kicks off blitz of worldwide visionOS developer events

Apple has kicked off a series of developer events centered around helping devs build visionOS apps and content for the Apple Vision Pro, including labs and a four-week workshop.

The series kicked off with a small-scale event focused on Apple Vision Pro and creating software and content for visionOS. The "Envision the Future: Build Great Apps for visionOS" event was held at the Apple Developer Center in Cupertino on October 2, 2024.

The all-day workshop covered design best practices, demonstrating best-in-class apps, and how to get started with SwiftUI, ARKit, RealityKit, and Reality Composer Pro. Apple staff were on hand to demonstrate, including writing code on the spot.

Network Security Monitor developer Todd Heberlein was among the attendees, and wrote a glowing report of the event. He called it a "cozy WWDC," and noted that 170 devs attended.

"The presenters were live. Many wrote code and showed the results live," Heberlein noted. "Sometimes demos didn't work the first time."

He called the event "fantastic" and said he hopes Apple will hold more events like it.

"Because the event centered on one topic and visionOS is a very new platform, all of us developers were in the same boat," Heberlein said. "How do I do this?' Have you tried that?' Though I'm socially awkward, I enjoyed every interaction with my fellow developers."

Developers attending the Cupertino event on October 2, 2024. Credit: Todd Heberlein

More visionOS events coming soon

Apple is kicking off a series of visionOS-related events in several locations, and taking a variety of approaches in getting developers up to speed on visionOS. The company has a series of half-day in-person labs that kicked off on September 25, and will run throughout October in Toronto, Canada.

There is also a four-week online workshop in Tokyo starting October 6. In addition, requests are now open for a 30-minute one-on-one online consultations on Apple Vision Pro being held across October 14 and 15.

The company is also holding two all-day developer lab events at the Apple Development Center in Shanghai, China on October 16. A second developer lab will be held on November 13.

For developers in Korea, a two-week set of labs on visionOS development will run in Seoul from October 23 to November 7.

One-on-one 30-minute online consultations for Chinese developers will be available on October 28 and 29. North American developers will get an additional chance for one-on-one online consultations on October 29.