Unlike every other VR headset released over the past half-decade, Apple’s Vision Pro did not launch with controllers. The company’s landmark “spatial computer” may be correcting that error, according to a new report that claims Apple’s working with none other than Sony’s PlayStation brand on a pair of VR-specific controllers.
The $3,500 Vision Pro isn’t good for gaming unless you pair it with a Mac, especially with the latest ultra-widescreen update. It puts it behind the $500 Meta Quest 3 and even the $300 Quest 3s in gaming capability. In his latest PowerOn newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claims Apple has a “major effort” underway to support hand controllers. Sony’s PlayStation brand seems to be first on that list, with Gurman claiming via anonymous sources that the PlayStation VR2 hand controllers could soon be compatible with Vision Pro.
Such an update could make the Vision Pro a fully gaming-capable device. It’s packing an M2 chip, which ostensibly means it should be powerful enough to run a wide swathe of VR gaming apps natively. Apple is also reportedly working with other third-party developers on controller support. Each controller will still need to support 6 DoF (degrees of freedom), but that’s common among all current VR controllers.
Apple could announce VR2 controller compatibility with Vision Pro soon. Gurman reported that Sony and Apple planned to share this news earlier this year. The obvious issue is that Sony doesn’t sell its VR2 controllers separately. It could be another way to make money from its stock of VR2s, even after the headset went on sale last month. Sony hasn’t revealed specific sales numbers for VR2 units since its launch last year. However, the developer of the VR platformer Max Mustard claimed on Reddit back in October that Sony has shipped around 2 million units.
The Vision Pro may currently be one of the best VR headsets for accessibility thanks to its eye and hand tracking. Controllers may also allow for new ways to select apps without pinching. It could also be used for fine-precision controls on apps like Final Cut Pro. Gurman mentioned that Apple has tested a stylus-like device for its spatial computer, but that won’t arrive by the end of this year.
You can always still connect an Xbox or PlayStation controller to the Vision Pro if you want to load what few games and emulators currently work with Vision Pro. Apple’s refocus on gaming has brought a surprising number of big-budget games to Apple’s App Store, and it seems willing to stretch beyond its first-party hardware to make gaming accessible. Last month, the normally-closeted Cupertino tech giant partnered with Corsair to stock gaming keyboards and mice.
I’ve used Apple’s headset for various gaming apps, and even without controllers, few games work well with hand gesture controls. Sure, you can play 3D puzzle games like Castle Crumble or Warped Kart Racers with just your hands, but who wants to hold their hands at 10 and 2 on an invisible steering wheel to drive Family Guy’s Peter Griffin around a track when you could play Mario Kart 8 with buttons and sticks?
This brings us to the final issue. Apple needs to attract game developers to the Vision Pro. The Quest catalog would run fine on Apple’s M2 platform, but developers need to see a reason to translate their games. That may be a hard sell, considering the Vision Pro sold “less than half a million” units, according to Gurman’s sources. That’s not great, considering sales of the headset were already down back in July.
Vision Pro’s hand and eye tracking are still the best we’ve used among VR headsets, but the Quest 3 and 3s are close behind and cost a fraction of the Vision Pro. The PSVR2’s controllers were comfortable and worked as well as you needed to for VR gaming. Combined, it could be a powerful combo. Now we just need the games to play with it.
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