Apple released visionOS 27 Developer Beta 2 on June 22, 2026, as part of a broader wave of second-beta updates that also covers iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden Gate, tvOS 27, and HomePod 27. The release arrives roughly two weeks after Beta 1, which Apple seeded on June 8 immediately following the WWDC 2026 keynote, and it marks the first refinement pass on what shapes up to be a substantial update for Apple Vision Pro users.
visionOS 27 Beta 2 across the platform brings improvements including faster smart home accessory updates, more consistent window positioning persistence across external displays, and smoother unlocking. The ability to use panorama photos as spatial Environments, a headlining visionOS 27 feature, also receives refinements in this build.
What’s new in visionOS 27
The core feature set was established in Beta 1 and is being refined through subsequent builds. Apple’s WWDC keynote coverage of Vision Pro was relatively quiet, but the actual feature list in visionOS 27 is more substantial than that coverage implied. Beta 1 highlight features included:
- Visual Intelligence via a 3D Siri orb: Users can ask Siri about anything in their surroundings in real time. A new 3D orb can be placed anywhere in the virtual space, and simply looking at it starts a conversation with no “Hey Siri” required.
- Panoramas as environments: Panorama photos can be converted into immersive spatial environments, wrapping the user’s surroundings in their own imagery.
- Curved app windows: Safari, Freeform, and Apple TV now support curved window layouts that wrap content around the user’s field of view.
- Safari Web Environments: A new immersive API lets developers launch users into full 360-degree environments directly from within Safari.
- Faster Wi-Fi: Apple says visionOS 27 improves wireless performance significantly, with supported networks delivering speeds up to 3 times faster than before.
- Eye-aware notifications: Users can preview a notification by looking at it, then expand it to reply or take action without lifting a hand.
- High Quality Capture: 4K video capture is now possible directly from Apple Vision Pro with no Mac required.
- Enhanced object tracking: High-frame-rate tracking provides apps with more frequent pose updates, an extended Create ML training option improves accuracy for hand-held objects, and a new API delivers object pose in metric space for high-precision applications such as surgical navigation training.
- New Thórsmörk environment: A new built-in Environment takes users to Iceland’s Thórsmörk, with a night mode featuring the aurora borealis.
- Reality Composer Pro 3: A new version of the developer tool adds Live Preview, so changes appear on the headset instantly, along with deeper Xcode integration and generative intelligence for asset creation.
- Unity spatial accessory support: visionOS 27 now supports spatial accessories in Unity apps and games, including Sony PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers.
visionOS 27 is compatible with both the Apple Vision Pro M2 and the Apple Vision Pro M5, though not every feature is available on both. Because the M2 model cannot run Apple’s latest on-device AI model, the adjustable Siri voices and improved dictation features introduced in visionOS 27 are exclusive to the M5. The broader Siri AI and Visual Intelligence features work on both models.
There is also a regional consideration. Mac and Apple Vision Pro users in the EU will be able to access Siri AI when the device is set to a supported language, while iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS users in the EU will not have that access at launch. That makes Vision Pro the only device in Apple’s lineup where EU users get Siri AI from day one, reflecting how Apple has structured its regulatory compliance across different product categories.
The visionOS 27 developer beta is currently limited to registered Apple developers. Unlike iOS and macOS, visionOS does not have a public beta program, so the general public will need to wait for the full release, which is expected in fall 2026, likely September. Apple continues to advise installing developer betas only on secondary devices, though early reports suggest this year’s betas are more stable than usual across the platform.
The pace of visionOS development has always been watched closely given the ongoing conversation about Vision Pro’s commercial trajectory. The feature depth in visionOS 27, particularly the expanded object tracking APIs, Reality Composer Pro 3, and Unity accessory support, points to Apple continuing to build out the developer platform regardless of those pressures. Apple is also seeding iOS 26.1 and macOS Tahoe 26.1 betas in parallel, signalling an active development cadence heading into fall.
