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visionOS 2.2 Beta Adds Wide and Ultrawide Modes to Mac Virtual Display
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I‘m aware of how it works on Macs with physical displays. Back when I used a MacBook Pro I routinely turned off halving and ran at native resolution because I preferred the additional real estate.
The post I replied to said it was “fantastic” and resolution was 5120x1440 but this is not a physical display, so I asked for clarification. When you say the AVP virtual display is 10240x2880, can we assume Apple is still doing resolution halving and therefore is effectively 5120x1440?
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
You just have more menu bar. My ultrawide monitor has the same menus I had on an iMac… but the middle part between menu left and icons right is simply wider.
You know how some apps with many menus sometimes bump into/under a notch? Wider screens provide much more space to the left & right of center.
Instead of 1 or 2 windows side by side, make that 3 or 4 or 5.
Instead of lots of scrolling through tracks in FCPX or similar, fit much more of the timeline on the screen.
Etc. The big deal here is that Vpro still weighs the same, is still the same physical size… as it was yesterday. But the virtual Mac screen “unfolds or unrolls” much larger than yesterday. Us “on the road” guys who can't readily carry along physical widescreens can appreciate the wide workspace without the weight or added physical size. Imagine the long flight where someone can work on a v-screen this size even in coach vs.trying to balance 2 or 3 monitors on a tray table.
And when the work is done, watch something on a big screen… because there’s no balancing the big TV back home on that tray table either.
Yes, we may have big physical screens anchored at home or office but that’s not where we always are… and no fold or roll will likely ever hit this size (wheeled cart anyone?) and projectors can cast a screen this big but need dark spaces and lots of depth to be usable.
Else, the fallback is a relative puny 16” screen or smaller… nearly square.
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It's exactly like when using a high-resolution physical display like the Apple Studio Display. You can choose to run a native resolution of 10240x2880 if you want, but it's kind of ridiculous, because everything will be too small to read. Running at 7680x2160 is kind of useable, but only if you make the ultrawide virtual display truly enormous. You have to rotate your head almost 180 degrees when going from the leftmost part to the rightmost part of the screen. The default 5120x1440 is the highest practically usable resolution, if you ask me.
Still think this device is the silliest Apple has ever made! Before I left we were working on a holographic display that puts this to shame,
and you didn’t have your head strapped up wearing a 4x8 plastic monstrosity!
and you didn’t have your head strapped up wearing a 4x8 plastic monstrosity!
This is good. Should have been a feature from day one, but I'm not complaining.
It is stunning. The wide screen is magnificent. The ultra-wide screen is just insane. I've never once regretted getting the AVP and this update makes it even more valuable to me.
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I don't have to. My family works and teaches about computers for many years; even mainframe computers - is that enough "substance"?
The same as it's been with every other version of Vision OS. You may be disappointed to know that OS updates do not impact the shape or weight of the device.
I wished some company would make a headset that would do just that, a Mac virtual display, no other AR/VR stuff, and costing no more than a Mac Studio Display. Apple? Are you listening?
Apple today seeded the first beta of visionOS 2.2 to developers, and it adds the promised "Wide" and "Ultrawide" modes to the Mac Virtual Display feature.
Mac Virtual Display allows Apple's Vision Pro headset to be used as an external display for a Mac. The feature has been available since visionOS was first released earlier this year, but the wider options are new in the latest beta.
Apple has previously said the ultra-wide version of Mac Virtual Display is equivalent to having two physical 4K displays sitting side by side on a desk.
Mac Virtual Display is now available in three sizes: Normal, Wide, and Ultrawide.
visionOS 2.2 will likely be released to the public in December alongside iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, macOS Sequoia 15.2, watchOS 11.2, tvOS 18.2, and other updates.
Apple has yet to offer public betas of visionOS.
Article Link: visionOS 2.2 Beta Adds Wide and Ultrawide Modes to Mac Virtual Display
Game changer, again. I installed about two hours ago, and went to work immediately. My work requires access to multiple windows open at once, and this does that perfectly. It's the best Mac experience I've ever had. Flow state achieved.
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I just finished the updates. this feature is AMAZING! I was waiting for it, and it is definitely cool.
Writing from my VP linked to my MBP right now. I don't really need the UW but I am very pleased with the increase in sharpness of the virtual display with this update. MUCH improved.
I gotta say I just started trying this feature and I am absolutely blown away. The clarity of the screen is a lot better. It basically looks like the actual real life screen I have on my desk which is a 40 inch ultra wide 5K screen. And it can be expanded to something insanely large where you have to completely turn your head to look at both sides. The sharpness is maintained. Like it's really sharp. It's really really well done. The latency is also very low, and now sound comes through the headset from the Mac, which is also another large improvement. They really did an extremely good job with this one. It brings new life into the headset and lets who create anything from a virtual ultra wide monitor in front of you that's realistic sized, just something absolutely gargantuan that surrounds your viewing, which is good if you're editing movies and want to see something that looks like it's on a real life movie theater screen, while not having to resort to using another app or something.
I don't know about the future of the Apple Vision Pro but this new addition gives it a lot more usefulness. Because now I can create a far larger monitor in my small space than I ever could have before. And you can create a screen so large that you feel like you're editing on an IMAX screen. That curves all around you it's very impressive. Very well done.
I don't know about the future of the Apple Vision Pro but this new addition gives it a lot more usefulness. Because now I can create a far larger monitor in my small space than I ever could have before. And you can create a screen so large that you feel like you're editing on an IMAX screen. That curves all around you it's very impressive. Very well done.
Now the feature I really want next is the ability to simultaneously share content I'm viewing with another nearby AVP so two people can have a shared experience. This will go a long way in reducing the isolation factor of using VR.
I have an iMac Pro and only get a new slightly curved screen but the same resolution. No ultra wide screen. I'm on MacOS 15.1. I assume that's because it's not using an M series chip.
