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Apple made the visionOS 27 beta available to Vision Pro developers after Monday's WWDC 2026 keynote, and in this version there is a new Environment that allows you to immerse yourself in the Icelandic highlands.

iceland-visionos-27-environment@2x-scaled.jpg

"Thórsmörk" is a mountain ridge in Iceland that was named after the Norse god Thor. It offers a nighttime and daytime experience of the icy landscape surrounding a lake, complete with wintry sound effects and running water. It also includes a view of the Northern Lights.

Environments let you transform your physical surroundings into a different place, like Yosemite, Mount Hood, or the Moon. Environments can be used while you're using apps or they can provide a backdrop when you're watching movies. In Thórsmörk, for example, if you're watching a video, the scene's colors are reflected in the snow and the water for extra immersion.

Last year, visionOS 26 introduced an interactive Jupiter Environment that uses imagery from NASA for maximum authenticity.

There were only a handful of passing references to visionOS 27 during Apple's keynote, but the Vision Pro software is set to benefit from the same Siri AI features that are coming to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27 Golden Gate. visionOS 27 is expected to be released in the fall.

Article Link: visionOS 27 Gains New Icelandic Environment Called 'Thórsmörk'
 
Is it available on Beta 1 already?
I remember the Saturn didn’t available until the final RC came out
 
Nice to know about this. Interesting to see Apple coming out with such updates especially when number of users are low and Vision Pro is not yet available worldwide.
 
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I was surprised by the number of updates the Vision Pro will get. The spatial panoramic photos, panoramics as Environments, new curved windows and the Siri AI stuff all look like big upgrades. 👏
This is very cool. I think Apple is learning from me and other AVP users to help design more UI experiences for other wearables. AVP 2 may appear in a few years, but glasses etc will benefit from the user experience with AVP
 
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many good new features on VOS always welcomed... Iceland is like a heaven on earth. That place always amazes me whenever I go there. Strongly recommended if you have not been there.
 
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many good new features on VOS always welcomed... Iceland is like a heaven on earth. That place always amazes me whenever I go there. Strongly recommended if you have not been there.
I second this. Went there a couple years ago and it was amazing. Northern lights, swimming in hot springs while getting snowed on, watching volcanoes do volcano stuff, and the crazy waterfalls at the split in the tectonic plates were super cool. The new environment has me thinking about another visit.
 
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Is it available on Beta 1 already?
I remember the Saturn didn’t available until the final RC came out
It is already in Beta 1. Compared to the previous environments, Thórsmörk seems to be significantly more detailed and photo realistic. Whatever they did with this environment, I hope they go back and visually upgrade the existing locations so they are similar. Of note, the flowing water is very realistic during the day and freezes at night and the environmental media player feels like the lighting interacts more naturally with the surroundings.
 
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It is already in Beta 1. Compared to the previous environments, Thórsmörk seems to be significantly more detailed and photo realistic. Whatever they did with this environment, I hope they go back and visually upgrade the existing locations so they are similar. Of note, the flowing water is very realistic during the day and freezes at night and the environmental media player feels like the lighting interacts more naturally with the surroundings.
Apple changes and optimises the environments indeed: Mount Hood with "nothing else" on screen on is rainy. As soon as you activate something - the rain stops. Probably introduced with VisionOS 26 - or I just overlooked it.
 
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Thórsmörk (Þórsmörk) isn't a mountain range it's a forest.
Thor's Forest (or Woodland) is the direct translation of the name.
 
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