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Apple Vision Pro is Getting the 'World's Most Advanced Flight Simulator'
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I’ve used MSFS on AVP using ALVR. It takes a lot of tweaking in setup and has occasional issues, but when it does it work, it is incredible. Significantly better than my Reverb G2.
Nice to see 26.4 will bring a better way to do this.
Nice to see 26.4 will bring a better way to do this.
Yeah the four post actuators will tilt and rumble etc., but you will never get the same g-forces or sustained g-forces. They make some that are suspended in the air, but sustained g-forces still aren’t the same and they won’t fit in a normal house.
It is more so whether Microsoft Flight sim will. be put on Nvidia's cloud than anything to do with the VisionPro.
"...
Later this spring, with NVIDIA CloudXR 6.0 for visionOS, Apple Vision Pro users can stream immersive PC and cloud experiences from NVIDIA RTX systems. This integration creates a direct bridge between visionOS and RTX-powered game rendering. iRacing, a highly realistic motorsport racing simulator, and X-Plane 12, a professional-grade flight simulator, will support this feature at launch.
..."
NVIDIA RTX Innovations Are Powering the Next Era of Game Development | NVIDIA Technical Blog
NVIDIA RTX ray tracing and AI-powered neural rendering technologies are redefining how games are made, enabling a new standard for visuals and performance. At GDC 2026, NVIDIA unveiled the latest path…
This isn't a feature that is unique to the X-Plane. It is whether have adapted to running in Nvidia particular cloud instances.
From Nvidia's docs on CloudXR 6.0.
" ...
Client devices:
- Apple Vision Pro (visionOS 2.4+)
- iPhone and iPad (iOS 18.0+)
- Meta Quest 3 (via web browser, OS version 79+)
- Pico 4 Ultra (via web browser, Pico OS 15.4.4U+)
- Desktop browsers with WebXR support
- WebRTC-based streaming through standard web browsers
- WebXR device API integration for immersive VR/AR experiences
- Client framework agnostic: works with Three.js, React Three Fiber, or vanilla WebGL
- npm package distribution for easy integration
- SwiftUI and RealityKit integration
- Full 6DOF head tracking via ARKit
- Hand tracking support on visionOS
- Bluetooth controller support (PlayStation DualSense)
- Metal-accelerated video decoding and rendering
..."
This isn't VisionPro or Apple only.
As the 'next gen' Android XR platforms roll out , some of those likely to show up also (when they popular in sales volume).
BeatsByTim
macrumors 6502
seems to be the common way around it. I've been taking citalopram for years and have been fine. But the fact that their rules are so crazy around it means I'm not going to risk it.
Instrument approaches are done without visuals… so an iPad with just showing 6 primaries are enough 🙂
Anonymous Freak
macrumors 603
It was never meant to be "visually the most realistic," it is "the most realistic flight model" since it's actually based on physics.
I've been using/playing X-Plane since it was a real engineering simulation tool that cost $650, and wasn't sold as "a game" at all. (I was an aerospace engineering student at the time.)
(And I've been playing Microsoft Flight Simulator since before it was Microsoft - my "SubLogic Flight Simulator II for Apple II" box is on the shelf behind me, next to my FS24 boxed set I had to order from Europe. FS24 is my "for fun in zooming around the world." X-Plane is my "I want to test an actual airplane design's flight characteristics." And that separation has been true for 30 years.)
He didn’t have a normal house, it was in his company building (huge warehouse). It was virtually a small commercial style sim just without the multi story height.
Though it was still enormous. Even the motion rig was a custom build he did.
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turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
Yes, all well and good.
I think I'm just non plussed by that as a real world pilot, as none of these experiences really mimic anything in a way where "based on physics" actually matters much.
In flight sims I spend most of my time enjoying the view and weather and systems and manipulating the autopilot, so for me I enjoy MSFS a lot more.
Anonymous Freak
macrumors 603
As a pilot, X-Plane is overkill, MSFS is plenty.
As an engineer, X-Plane is the only one to consider if you want to test engineering designs quickly and simply and not using even more boring-visual software that costs tens of thousands of dollars. (AKA: for engineers doing it on the side.)
It does seem silly that X-Plane is the one for Apple Vision Pro, when MSFS would be visually more appealing. But MS doesn't offer MSFS for Mac†, and X-Plane does.
†Microsoft doesn't offer MSFS for Mac…. any more. I have an ancient copy of MSFS for Mac - from 1986.
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
Fair .. I get ya.
I would be suddenly quite interested in a Vision Pro if I could play MSFS on it.
So what is the clarity like on that VR headset, and what hardware do you have (GPU and cpu)?
It’s interesting but I’m certainly not going to purchase an AVP, just too expensive.
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Running 14700K and 4080. When it works, clarity is great, better than any other headset I’ve used for gaming. But overall it was just too much effort to get it to work well.
But this was mainly because of how demanding MSFS is. Other games though ALVR run better and Sunshine/Moonlight gaming runs incredibly well.
I would still not recommend anyone to buy an AVP for gaming like this though, even if price wasn’t such an issue
I'm running it on W3275M Mac Pro with a single W6800X. I used to also have two other 5K 27" screens attached and the Reverb G2 and that overwhelmed it sometimes - it would crash, I think that overwhelmed what the W6800X could handle, if I disconnected one screen it was fine to run in the VR mode. Without using VR mode, it was extremely stable on that machine - framerates weren't the highest, but they also weren't the lowest and they were very steady. I used that machine because it already had windows installed so why not.
I didn't try the same with the dual W6800X Duo machine, maybe it would do better with the displays connected to the other GPU.
Interesting to know, but ultimately I'm not spending AUD$6000 on a device that could be dropped at any time by Apple if they have a change of mind on VR headsets.
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But the physics rules, so, being a flight simulator, people care about the flying experience.
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my first thought is whether or not you could just buy a small plane for the price of all that gear....
At FSExpo 2025 I tried out the WinCTRL CyberTaurus gear and the feedback was amazing (of course demo is one thing, running the actual sim connected via SimAppPro is a whole other, that festering steaming pile of crappy code will make it virtually impossible to work properly) but modern force feedback is pretty amazing. And modern Sim hardware from WinCTRL and others are amazing (almost done with my full single seat A320 using most of the open source designs for pedestal, side panels and MIP/frame).
Also important to realize that of course it's never going to get the feel of a $20m simulator (my son who is an airline pilot) describes the feel as so realistic in those that you feel the pavement cracks as you drive over them. And after a very short period the point isn't simulating of how-to-fly (ignore things like aerobatics, dogfighting, etc) for straight flying it is procedures. My son will often use either MSFS or XP to check out alternate approaches to new airports he hasn't flow to, or if there is an unusual threat for a given airport (mountain, etc) to get a feel for it before doing it for real. That's high value.
Yes you can get a used 1970-1980s Cessna 172 (the 1983 cutlass supreme of the skies) for under $50K, but that ignores maintenance and hangaring which add up very quickly! It's like owning an off-track horse, you might get the horse for free, but expect $2000/month at least for upkeep.
Osxguy
macrumors 6502
The history of xplane is interesting he actually investigated the American copy write scams.
www.x-plane.com
I support them because they fights the good fight. This also had some of the early iOS flight sims that you could control your iPad or desktop screens from your iPhone and fly the plane using the gyroscope. So to me this company is a hero
A Plea to Software Developers | X-Plane
You can help stop patent trolls from harming innovators. About the author Austin Meyer has been the owner and lead […]
www.x-plane.com
turbineseaplane
macrumors Penryn
The first rule of plane ownership:
1. If you're thinking about the costs very much, it's too much.