Game Controller Input Limitations in visionOS Volumetric Windows Hello Apple Developer Community, I'm developing a game for visionOS and have encountered significant limitations with game controller input when using volumetric windows (WindowGroup with .volumetric style). I'd appreciate clarification on whether this is expected behavior and any guidance on best practices. 🧩 Issue Summary When using a DualSense controller with a volumetric window in visionOS, only a subset of controller inputs are available to the app. The remaining inputs appear to be reserved by the system for UI navigation. ✅ Working Inputs (Volumetric Window) D-Pad (all directions) L3 (left thumbstick button click) R3 (right thumbstick button click) Menu button Options button ❌ Not Working Inputs (Volumetric Window) Left thumbstick analog movement (used for UI scrolling instead) Right thumbstick analog movement (used for UI scrolling instead) Face buttons (Cross, Circle, Square, Triangle / A, B, X, Y) Shoulder buttons (L1, R1) Triggers (L2, R2) Key observation: When moving the left thumbstick in a volumetric window, the window's UI scrolls vertically instead of sending input to my app's GameController handlers. Similarly, face buttons seem to be reserved for system UI interactions. ⚙️ Implementation Details I'm using the standard GameController framework: Connect to controller via GCController.controllers() Access extendedGamepad profile Set up valueChangedHandler and pressedChangedHandler for all inputs Handlers confirmed registered via logging Working inputs (D-Pad, L3, R3) trigger immediately and consistently Non-working inputs (thumbsticks, face buttons) never trigger 🧠 Critical Finding: ImmersiveSpace Works Perfectly When testing the exact same code in an ImmersiveSpace (.mixed immersion style), all controller inputs work perfectly: ✅ Both thumbsticks provide full analog input ✅ All face buttons trigger their handlers ✅ All shoulder buttons and triggers work correctly ✅ 100% success rate with no intermittent issues This suggests the issue isn't with my code, but rather how visionOS handles controller input differently between Volumetric Windows and ImmersiveSpace. 🧪 Test Environment I created a minimal test project (Controller-Playground) to isolate the issue: A simple ControllerTester class that registers all GameController handlers A visual UI showing real-time input state No game logic, RealityKit physics, or other complexity Results In volumetric window: Only D-Pad, L3, R3, Menu, Options work In ImmersiveSpace: All inputs work perfectly This confirms the limitation exists at the visionOS platform level, not in app code. 🧰 Attempted Workarounds I tried the following without success: Setting GCSupportsControllerUserInteraction = false in Info.plist Setting UIRequiresFullScreen = true Changing window styles (.plain, .volumetric) Polling vs. handler-based input approaches Various threading models (MainActor, separate thread) Result: The only way to enable full controller support is to switch to ImmersiveSpace. ❓ Questions for Apple Is this input reservation behavior in volumetric windows intended and documented? Are game controllers expected to have limited functionality in volumetric windows while full functionality is reserved for ImmersiveSpace? Is there a way to request full controller input access in a volumetric window, or is ImmersiveSpace the only option for complete controller support? Where can I find official documentation about controller input differences between window types? Are there any APIs or configuration options to disable system controller shortcuts in volumetric windows? 🎯 Impact This limitation has a significant effect on game design and architecture: Volumetric windows offer a multitasking-friendly, less immersive experience ImmersiveSpace provides full controller support but may be more immersive than some games require Games that only need basic D-Pad and button input can work fine in volumetric windows Games requiring analog sticks or face buttons must currently use ImmersiveSpace It would be very helpful if Apple could clarify or reference existing documentation regarding controller input handling in different visionOS window types. If such documentation doesn't exist yet, it might be valuable to include this information in future developer guides or best-practice documents. 🕹 Current Workaround For now, I'm using: D-Pad for character movement (digital 8-direction) R3 (right stick click) as a substitute for the "X" button This setup allows the game to function within a volumetric window, though full controller support still requires ImmersiveSpace. 📄 Request If this is expected behavior, I may have simply missed the relevant documentation — could you please point me to any existing resources that explain this design? If there isn't one yet, it would be great if future visionOS documentation could: Clearly outline controller input behavior across window types Provide guidance on when to use Volumetric Windows vs. ImmersiveSpace for games Consider adding an API option to request full controller access when appropriate If this is not expected behavior, I'm happy to file a detailed bug report with sample code. 💻 System Information visionOS: Latest Simulator Xcode: Latest version Controller: Sony DualSense Framework: GameController (standard extendedGamepad profile) Test project: Minimal reproducible example available Thank you for any clarification or guidance you can provide. This information would be valuable for many developers working on visionOS games.

Hi. I am mixing content destined for Vision Pro. Locked to video. I have the AAX installer and the ASAF video player demonstrated in the quicktimes is nit included in the install package for pro tools. Would it be possible to post a link ?

Hi, I've created an carousel using an Tabview component and it is divided in pages, each page has 7 items. Now we wan't to load the carousel page by page, but whenever I updated the list which Tabview uses to render, it flickers because it rerenders previous elements. I've tried to use a scroll view for this but this app is for Vision Pro and I added some 3D transformations (position/rotation) to the cards from the tabview and when I added this in the scrollview they becom unclickable. Do you have any sugestions what can I do? Bellow is a sample of the code, I put [items] just to suggest there is a list. VStack (spacing: 45) { TabView(selection: $navigationModel.carouselSelectedPage) { let orderedArtist = [items] let numberOfPages = Int((Double(orderedArtist.count) / Double(cardsPerPage)).rounded(.up)) if(numberOfPages != 1){ Spacer().tag(-1) } ForEach(0..<numberOfPages, id: \.self) { page in LazyHStack(alignment: .top, spacing: 16){ ForEach(0..<cardsPerPage, id: \.self) { index in if(page * cardsPerPage + index < orderedArtist.count){ let item = orderedArtist[page * cardsPerPage + index] GeometryReader{proxy in

When assigning a ManipulationComponent to an Entity SceneEvents.WillRemoveEntity will be called for that Entity. Expected Behavior: the Entity is not (even if temporarily) removed from the Scene and no SceneEvents will be triggered as a result of assigning a ManipulationComponent. FB20872220

I want to let users place 2D/3D “artworks” on detected walls and have them reappear in exactly the same real‑world spot after quitting and relaunching the app (like widgets do, but for my own entities).Environment: Xcode 26, visionOS 2.0, RealityKit + ARKitSession/WorldTrackingProvider Entities are parented to a holder that’s aligned to a wall via plane/mesh raycasts. What I’ve tried: Create a WorldAnchor at placement, save UUID + full 4×4 transform On next launch, re-create the WorldAnchor (or set the saved transform) and attach the entity Gate restore on relocalization/mesh updates and disable all raycast/search after restore Issue: After relaunch, placement still resolves relative to current device pose, not the same wall position. Questions: Is there a public API in visionOS 2.0 to persist app‑managed world anchors across sessions (room‑fixed), e.g., AnchorStore or equivalent? If not, what’s the recommended pattern to reliably restore wall‑anchored content? Are persistence features mentioned for widgets/windows available to third‑party RealityKit entities?

Hello, I am in the process of implementing SharePlay support in my visionOS app. Everything runs fine when I test locally, but when my app is distributed via TestFlight, calling try await activity.activate() shows the SharePlay dialog as usual, but then when I start a new FaceTime call, my ImmersiveSpace gets dismissed. This is only happening when the app is distributed via TestFlight, when I run it locally the ImmersiveSpace stays active as expected. Looking at the console on my Mac I found this log: Invalid initial client settings class: UIApplicationSceneClientSettings; expected class: MRUISharedApplicationSceneClientSettings; bundle ID: com.apple.facetime; scene ID: com.apple.facetime:SFBSystemService-DDA8C751-C0C4-487E-AD85-59EF4E6C6050 Does anyone have an idea how I can fix this? It's driving me nuts and I wasted over a day looking for a workaround but so far been unsuccessful. Thanks!

Breaking Through PolySpatial's ~8k Object Limit – Seeking Alternative Approaches for Large-Scale Digital Twins Confirmed: PolySpatial make Doubles MeshFilter Count – Hard Limit at ~8k Active Objects (15.9k Total) Project Context & Research Goals I’m developing an industrial digital twin application for Apple Vision Pro using Unity’s PolySpatial framework (RealityKit rendering in Unbounded_Volume mode). The scene contains complex factory environments with: Production line equipment Many fragmented grid objects need to be merged.) Dynamic product racks (state-switchable assets) Animated worker avatars To optimize performance, I’m systematically testing visionOS’s rendering capacity limits. Through controlled stress tests, I’ve identified a critical threshold: Key Finding When the total MeshFilter count reaches 15,970 (system baseline + 7,985 user-created objects × 2 due to PolySpatial cloning), the application crashes consistently. This suggests: PolySpatial’s mirroring mechanism effectively doubles GameObject overhead An apparent hard limit exists around ~8k active mesh objects in practice Objectives for This Discussion Verify if others have encountered similar limits with PolySpatial/RealityKit Understand whether this is a: Memory constraint (per-app allocation) Render pipeline limit (Metal draw calls) Unity-specific PolySpatial behavior Explore optimization strategies beyond brute-force object reduction Why This Matters Industrial metaverse applications require rendering thousands of interactive objects . Confirming these limits will help our team: Design safer content guidelines Prioritize GPU instancing/LOD investments Potentially contribute back to PolySpatial’s optimization I’d appreciate insights from engineers who’ve: Pushed similar large-scale scenes in visionOS Worked around PolySpatial’s cloning overhead Discovered alternative capacity limits (vertices/draw calls)

I have a visionOS app using Apple's WebView and WebPage to display web content. When viewing a live YouTube stream last night, YouTube put up the warning in the area that would have the chat window: Oh no! It looks like you're using an older version of your browser. Please update it to use live chat. Anyone know if YouTube is generating this from the server based on the WebPage's user agent string, from Javascript running in the browser engine, or something else? Anyone know if and how it is possible to resolve this? (See right side of YouTube web page from a screen grab):

For the M2 Apple Vision Pro, there's "a general guideline, we recommend no more than 500 thousand triangles for an immersive scene, with 250 thousand for applications in the shared space." --https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2024/10186/?time=147 Is there a revised recommendation for the M5 Apple Vision Pro?

In visionOS, is there a way to temporarily hide the window close/position handle at the bottom of a window? The Safari app does this, so it must be possible.

Thank you again for pushing the web forward in VisionOS 2, super exciting! The latest WWDC24 video touched on VR experiences for VisionOS2.0 using WebXR, however there was no mention of passthrough AR experiences. Samples such as this one are not supported: https://immersive-web.github.io/webxr-samples/immersive-ar-session.html In Settings > Safari, there is a feature flag for the AR WebXR module, but enabling it did not seem to change anything. Is this the expected behavior at this time? Any developer preview(s) we could try?

I'm currently implementing 180° / 360° immersive video for my app. I easily implemented 360° by just applying VideoMaterial to flipped sphere. But I'm stuck at 180°. I'm trying to implement by applying VideoMaterial to hemisphere (half sphere). I want to make VideoMaterial to be visible half front sphere and half back sphere transparent / clear. Would there be any advice / information / idea to implement this? Your help would be grateful.

Hi, I'm currently implementing 180° / 360° property for immersive video in my app. I was able to implement 360° easily by just giving VideoMaterial to flipped sphere. However, I'm bit stuck at 180°. I want to implement by setting VideoMaterial to hemisphere mesh. But since RealityKit doesn't provide default function such like MeshResource.generateHemisphere yet, I just want to apply VideoMaterial half front visible, and half back transparent. I thought this would make my sphere looks like hemisphere. But I can't find my way to implement this method.. I would appreciate any advice / idea / information that might help.

I found that unofficial apps like ChatGPT and Shadowrocket can use widgets in VisionOS 26. How is this achieved? How can I also enable widgets for apps I develop?

When using the new RealityKit Manipulation Component on Entities, indirect input will never translate the entity - no matter what settings are applied. Direct manipulation works as expected for both translation and rotation. Is this intended behaviour? This is different from how indirect manipulation works on Model3D. How else can we get translation from this component? visionOS 26 Beta 2 Build from macOS 26 Beta 2 and Xcode 26 Beta 2 Attached is replicable sample code, I have tried this in other projects with the same results. var body: some View { RealityView { content in // Add the initial RealityKit content if let immersiveContentEntity = try? await Entity(named: "MovieFilmReel", in: reelRCPBundle) { ManipulationComponent.configureEntity(immersiveContentEntity, allowedInputTypes: .all, collisionShapes: [ShapeResource.generateBox(width: 0.2, height: 0.2, depth: 0.2)]) immersiveContentEntity.position.y = 1 immersiveContentEntity.position.z = -0.5 var mc = ManipulationComponent() mc.releaseBehavior = .stay immersiveContentEntity.components.set(mc) content.add(immersiveContentEntity) } } }

Hi! I am learning Swift and UIKit for work. I am trying to automate using a pickerWheel in VisionOS, but since .adjust(toValue: ) was removed in VisionOS's API, I am absolutely struggling to find a way to set a pickerWheel to a specific value. Currently, my solution is to calculate the amount of times I would need to increment/decrement the wheel to get from the current value to the desired value, then do so one at a time. However, this currently does not work, as .accessibilityIncrement() and .accessibilityDecrement() do not work, and .swipeUp() and .swipeDown() go too far. What can I do? Note: I am not a frontend engineer, so while solutions may exist that involve changes to the frontend, I would much rather try and get the frontend we do have to work as is.

We were having an issue wrb the system rotate and scale gestures (two-handed gestures / RotateGesture3D and MagnifyGesture) were extremely difficult to register (make work) in the visionOS simulator. The solution we found was to: Launch your app in the simulator Move the pointer on top of the 3D object for which you are testing rotation and scaling gestures. Press and hold the Option key to display touch points (ie: the two-handed gesture points). While maintaining the option key pressed, release the pointer and re-enable it again. I am using a track pad with tap-to-click enabled and three-finger to drag enabled in accessibility, so "release the pointer and re-enable it again" translates simply to removing the three finger and placing them again on the trackpad. If you have maintained the option key pressed, then you should now be able to rotate and scale the 3D object. Context if you are interested: Our issue was also occurring in Apple's own sample project relating to gestures "Transforming RealityKit entities using gestures", at below link. On Apple's article "Interacting with your app in the visionOS simulator" at the below link, for two-handed gestures it states "Press and hold the Option key to display touch points. Move the pointer while pressing the Option key to change the distance between the touch points. Move the pointer and hold the Shift and Option keys to reposition the touch points." This simply did not work anymore for rotation and scaling gestures. These gestures used to be a lot more responsive in Sonoma. Either the article should be updated to what I described above, or there is an issue. Our colleague who is using macOS Sonoma 14.6.1 with the latest release of Xcode is not having these issues. Here is the list of configurations (troubleshooting we tried!) where it is difficult to achieve rotation and scaling gestures in the visionOS simulator: macOS Sequoia 16.1 Beta, Xcode 16.1 RC w visionOS 2.1 macOS Sequoia 16.1 Beta, Xcode 16.1 RC w visionOS 2.0 macOS Sequoia 16.1 Beta, Xcode 16.2 Beta 1 w visionOS 2.1 macOS Sequoia 16.1 Beta, Xcode 16.2 Beta 1 w visionOS 2.0 macOS Sequoia 16.1 Beta, remove all Xcodes and installed the build from AppStore (Xcode 16.1) macOS Sequoia 16.1 Beta, Xcode 16.0 w visionOS 2.0 completely wiped out, and reset entire development machine, re-installed latest releases of sequoia (15.1) and xcode (15.1)) Throughout these troubleshooting I often: restarted both xcode and sim erased all derived data erased all contents and settings from sims performed fresh git clones None of the above worked, only the workaround described above works atm. As you can maybe deduce, it was very time consuming to find the workaround, we also wasted some development effort thinking our gesture development was no-good. Hopefully this will help other devs. Article Link: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/xcode/interacting-with-your-app-in-the-visionos-simulator Gesture sample project link: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/realitykit/transforming-realitykit-entities-with-gestures

When showing an Alert from within a Popover that has a fixed height, the newly presented Alert is in the same position but gets limited by the Popovers height causing the title of the Alert to be hidden. Is this intentional behavior or are Alerts not supported within Popovers and I'd have to pass it through to my main view? Code: // // DemoalertPopover.swift // ******** // // Created by Thilo on 26.06.2023. // import SwiftUI struct DemoAlertPopover: View { @Environment(\.dismiss) var dismiss @State private var showDeleteConfirmation = false let dateFormatter: DateFormatter = { let formatter = DateFormatter() formatter.dateFormat = "dd.MM.yyyy" return formatter }() var body: some View { VStack(alignment: .leading, spacing: 0) { HStack { Text("Title").font(.extraLargeTitle).lineLimit(1) Spacer() Button(action: { dismiss() }) { Label("Close", systemImage: "xmark").labelStyle(.iconOnly) } } HStack(alignment: .center) { Text("Content").font(.largeTitle) Text("Content2").foregroundStyle(.secondary) } LazyVGrid(columns: [GridItem(.flexible(), spacing: 10),GridItem(.flexible(), spacing: 10),], spacing: 10) { Button(action: { showDeleteConfirmation = true }) { ZStack{ Image(systemName: "trash.fill").resizable().foregroundColor(.primary) }.aspectRatio(1/1,contentMode: .fit) .frame(maxWidth: .infinity).padding(5) }.aspectRatio(3/1,contentMode: .fit) }.alert("Are you sure you want to delete ...?", isPresented: $showDeleteConfirmation) { Button("Trash",role: .destructive, action: { print("Deleted") dismiss() }) Button("Cancel", role: .cancel) {} } message: { Text("This is a small message below the title, just so you know.") } } .padding(.all, 10).frame(width: 300) } } #Preview { DemoAlertPopover() } Video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/31Kl7qbJIiA

Hi All, We're a studio building an app and as part of a scene we have a 3D asset with a smoke particle emitter and a curved mesh that plays video. I notice that when the video alone is played or the particle effect alone is done then the scene works fine but the frame rate drops drastically when both are turned on. How do I solve this because this is an important storytelling feature.

I have a question about Apple’s preinstalled visionOS app “Encounter Dinosaurs.” In this app, the dinosaurs are displayed over the real-world background, but the PhysicallyBasedMaterial (PBM) in RealityKit doesn’t appear to respond to the actual brightness of the environment. Even when I change the lighting in the room, the dinosaurs’ brightness and shading remain almost the same. If this behavior is intentional — for example, if the app disables real-world lighting influence or uses a fixed lighting setup — could someone explain how and why it’s implemented that way?