Step Into Newsletter – September 26, 2025
Fancy Glass, manipulation updates, and getting started with tracked controllers.
Happy Friday and welcome to your weekly update from Step Into Vision.
This week on Step Into Vision
Last week we covered a few examples of using glass background effects in SwiftUI. When discussing those examples at Office Hours, Ivan point out a shader graph node in Reality Compose Pro. The Blurred Background node provides a glass that looks very similar to the effect we can apply to views in SwiftUI.
Lab 084 – Background Glass as Material. – Using the BlurredBackground Shader Graph Node.
Lab 085 – Background Glass Material Showcase. – Using the BlurredBackground material to build a showcase object.
We have a couple of new examples for manipulation/input this week.
Reading input data from Manipulation Component. – We can use chirality and kind to customize input based on the user’s hand or input device.
Spatial SwiftUI: Manipulation modifiers. – We can use the SwiftUI equivalent of Manipulation Component as a modifier.
We’re working on an article to summarize everything we know about Manipulation on visionOS 26. We’d love to hear how you’re using Manipulation Component and/or manipulable in your apps.
Speaking of input, we’re starting a new series of Example Code to cover tracked controllers and accessories. The first post is up now, with details about configuring your Xcode project. We even documented some issues along the way.
How to set up and track spatial controllers. Pair the controllers and connect them with your app. Set up an ARKit session to track them in space.
Please Support Step Into Vision
If you get value from the work we do, please show your love by supporting our work. We’re bootstrapping this project to create the best hub for visionOS developers and professionals. It takes a lot of time and we have a few expenses to take care of. Your support is greatly appreciated!
From the Community
We added Hands on Vision from Le-Roy Karunaratne to the resource library.
raven.vision is an awesome new resource for the Apple Vision Pro community from Raven Zachary. Check it out and add it to your rotation or RSS reader.
How to Stream Apple Immersive Video by Zachary Handshoe is a quick guide to streamline the Apple Immersive Video pipeline.
WWDC 25 Deep Dive: Immersive Video & OpenImmersive 1.4 by Anthony Maes explores immersive media on visionOS in great depth.
Shared Visions
Sign-ups are still open Shared Vision. We’ve had nearly 70 people sign up! If you’d like to contribute your skills and perspective then please join us
Learn more: Shared Visions: a community project
Sign up to participate in the Shared Visions Project
We hope to see you at Office Hours. We meet twice per week and hope to add one more time slot by the end of the year.
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