It looks like Apple has disabled or wholly removed a feature from Vision Pro software that replaced the view of the user’s ceiling with a virtual sky environment.
The Vision Pro page on Apple’s website no longer mentions the ability to “magically replace your ceiling with a clear, open sky.” Instead, it now simply says that you can “turn your room into a personal movie theater with the Cinema Environment.”
The reason for this feature removal is not immediately apparent. With less than three weeks left until Vision Pro’s launch, Apple probably concluded that the Open Sky VR feature wasn’t ready for prime time. We don’t know at this point whether it was killed for good or postponed only to return in a future visionOS update.
Apple removes the virtual sky Vision Pro feature
The account @M1Astra on X (formerly Twitter) spotted that Apple has re-uploaded the official introduction video for Vision Pro to YouTube and its website.
The company never reuploads product videos without a good reason. According to @M1Astra, the segment that showcases replacing a user’s ceiling with a virtual sky has been removed from the edited version of the video.
I can confirm that this scene is nowhere to be found in the edited video.
Before, the video depicted a user wearing Apple’s headset while lying on their bed. At one point, they look up and see a virtual sky in place of the view of their ceiling.
The wait for Vision Pro will soon be over
Apple will start taking pre-orders for the $3500 AR/VR headset this Friday. Vision Pro will be available at Apple’s physical and online stores in the United States starting February 2, with availability expanding to other countries later in 2024.
Folks buying online will use the Apple Store app to scan their face to determine the correct sizes for the Vision Pro accessories like the light seal and headband. Vision Pro will also be available at Apple’s retail store, with would-be shoppers required to sit through a lengthy in-store sales pitch and demonstration.