Apple isn’t planning to make its own VR controller and support third-party VR controllers for Vision Pro – Times of India

Apple Vision Pro comes as fresh air in the rather small lake of mixed reality headsets. The spatial computer, as Apple likes to call it, brings several innovative features and changes to make the Vision Pro, the best possible mixed-reality headset. That said, there are, still, certain limitations that the headset comes with and one of them is — gaming — which by the way Apple also didn’t focus much apart from Apple Arcade support.
One of the main reasons why Apple Vision Pro currently isn’t ideal for gaming is because it lacks support for VR game controllers. It’s not that Apple does not have that in mind. As Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has highlighted (reported by 9to5Mac) in his latest edition of Power On newsletter that Apple is “all-in on hand and eye control for Vision Pro.” He also mentioned that this is what differentiates Vision Pro from other VR headsets from companies like Meta and HTC.
Apple tested the idea of wearable controllers for Vision Pro
It’s not that Apple didn’t have the idea of having a VR controller for the Vision Pro. Gurman has also reported that Apple also explored the idea of a finger-worn device that would work as a controller for Vision Pro. He also mentioned that Apple did run some tests using third-party VR controllers from companies like HTC with Vision Pro.
Apple settled for eye and hand gesture for Vision Pro
In the newsletter, Gurman also mentioned that Apple ““decided that tracking hand and eye movements without an accessory was a more elegant solution.” And, Apple isn’t changing its mind on this.
“As of now, I’m told that Apple isn’t planning its own Vision Pro game controller, nor is it actively planning support for third-party VR accessories,” says Gurman in his newsletter.
Apple isn’t planning to make its own VR controller
Gurman also mentioned that Apple isn’t planning to make its own VR controller for the Vision Pro and nor is it planning to support third-party controllers as well.
Vision Pro does support third-party game controllers
Vision Pro does not support VR controllers, but it does support third-party game controllers like PlayStation DualSense and others. Apple also showcased this during the WWDC announcement with an NBA 2K game demo.