VisionOS can now make spatial photos out of 3D images

Apple today kicked off what it promised would be a packed WWDC 2024 with a handful of VisionOS announcements. At the top of the list, is the ability to turn existing images into spatial photos. The new feature utilizes machine learning to build out additional angles, marking a change from the existing method, which required images to be shot on an iPhone 15 Pro or the Vision Pro itself.

Then move is a bid to increase content creation for the headset, which Apple announced at last year’s WWDC. Users can now take older photos captured on older devices. It comes in the wake of what has been a slow start for the company’s long awaited entry into the mixed reality space.

The efficacy of machine generated images remains to be sign, but likely won’t offer as accurate an image as those shots captured with depth cameras. The feature is arriving as part of the new VisionOS 2 release, which should be available later this year.

Apple also announced this morning that the formerly U.S.-only headset will now be available in additional countries.