New visionOS 2.2 brings widescreen Mac to Apple Vision Pro

AppleInsider

Apple has publicly released visionOS 2.2 for the Apple Vision Pro, bringing small but significant changes including support for a wider Mac display.

Mirroring a Mac's display on an Apple Vision Pro

Following months of beta testing, visionOS 2.2, build number 22N842, is now the official current release and is rolling out worldwide. While not as marked a release for new features as visionOS 2 in September 2024, it brings more than the stability and bug fixes of visionOS 2.1.

Specifically, users who connect a Mac to Apple Vision Pro can now opt to have the virtual display be wider than before. The Mac can now appear within Apple Vision Pro as a widescreen monitor, the equivalent of two 4K displays side by side.

Audio from a connected Mac is now routed through the Apple Vision Pro speakers, too. There is also a general improvement to gaming responsiveness.

Apple says that there have been bug fixes to do with the Mac virtual display, too. These include an issue where playing videos in Firefox wouldn't work, and Siri was unresponsive.

There are also now improvements to how a user can pick up virtual items and move them.



Read on AppleInsider

chasm

The AVP is something of a problem for Apple. They could make it a lot lighter and presumably cheaper if they used much more plastic in the thing, but that goes against their environmental goals. They could also make it a bit less future-proofed with cheaper components, but having a more popular headset that doesn’t meet the company’s high standards isn’t Apple’s way.

My first suggestion would be to keep it as is until a redesigned model comes along, with one exception: include an overhead strap they really should have included in the first place to better balance the weight.

My second suggestion is a simple way to increase sales (at least somewhat): really LEAN IN to the ultrawide/multimonitor aspect. People who want to use the AVP for productivity purposes see that as its best feature. “Your whole room is your monitor” is a catchy phrase.

Third suggestion (that Apple won’t like): subsidize developers and filmmakers to bring content and more apps to the AVP more rapidly, starting immediately so the company can announce a handful of new cool things in February for the first anniversary.

Stabitha_Christie

chasm said:

My first suggestion would be to keep it as is until a redesigned model comes along, with one exception: include an overhead strap they really should have included in the first place to better balance the weight.

It comes with an overhead strap, they call it the dual loop band. 

mosesvii

I upgraded my VP to 2.2 today. I've connected to my iMac and still don't have the option for widescreen. The audio is also not routed to my headset. Do these new features not work on the iMacs at the moment?

tht

mosesvii said:

I upgraded my VP to 2.2 today. I've connected to my iMac and still don't have the option for widescreen. The audio is also not routed to my headset. Do these new features not work on the iMacs at the moment?

Do you have macOS 15.2?

Mac Virtual Display needs 15.2 because foveated rendering takes place on the Mac versus on the AVP in prior OS releases.