During the WWDC 2023 keynote livestream, Apple finally revealed its long-awaited augmented reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro. It also showed off a number of the apps that will be developed for the device. One of the most unexpected parts of the presentation came when it showed off Vision Pro versions of Microsoft"s Word, Excel, and Teams apps.
A brief look at the productivity apps showed all three of them running at the same time on a simulated version of the Apple Vision Pro"s twin displays. Apple stated that the apps will "make full use of the expansive canvas and sharp text rendering of the Vision Pro".
We would assume the apps can be controlled via voice or gestures like all the other visionOS-based apps that are being developed for the Vision Pro.
The video also mentioned that the Teams version of the app, along with versions of Zoom and Cisco"s Webex, will use their support for digital personas for better collaboration while using the Vision Pro.
Right now that"s all we really know right now about these versions of Microsoft"s productivity apps. Based on the few seconds of video, it looks like the apps will look and act similarly to the company"s iOS app versions. As of this writing, Microsoft has not issued any press releases about the Teams, Word, or Excel apps that are coming to the Vision Pro.
The Apple Vision Pro will also allow for hundreds of thousands of previously developed apps for its iOS and iPad devices to work on the headset. Apple is also letting developers use its current dev tools like Swift, XCode, and others to make all new apps for the Vision Pro.
Apple"s new hardware device is supposed to launch in early 2024 in the US. It will have a very high starting price tag of $3,499. It"s possible that Apple could launch other versions with increased storage for a higher price.