[WebXR] Support for AR module in VisionOS 2.x

Thank you again for pushing the web forward in VisionOS 2, super exciting!

The latest WWDC24 video touched on VR experiences for VisionOS2.0 using WebXR, however there was no mention of passthrough AR experiences.

Samples such as this one are not supported:

  • https://immersive-web.github.io/webxr-samples/immersive-ar-session.html

In Settings > Safari, there is a feature flag for the AR WebXR module, but enabling it did not seem to change anything.

Is this the expected behavior at this time? Any developer preview(s) we could try?

Answered by Vision Pro Engineer in 790772022

WebXR Immersive Sessions are a privacy preserving way to enable Augmented Reality through the Web. WebXR "immersive-ar" sessions are not supported on visionOS or iOS, that feature of the WebXR API is not in a testable state so even though the flag is there it is non-functional at this time. If this is a feature you would like please file a feedback request it's extremely helpful.

Again camera privacy concern, I guess! come on apple, at least give us the AR experience similar as what we could get on iPhone, otherwise why should pay 3500usd for a headset that does not support WEBAR?!

Accepted Answer

WebXR Immersive Sessions are a privacy preserving way to enable Augmented Reality through the Web. WebXR "immersive-ar" sessions are not supported on visionOS or iOS, that feature of the WebXR API is not in a testable state so even though the flag is there it is non-functional at this time. If this is a feature you would like please file a feedback request it's extremely helpful.

Where shall we file a feature request please? It now works more or less on Vision Pro but we’ve been waiting for a very long time for webxr to be supported on the regular iOS for iPhone and iPad.

It's more than a year now. When can we see support to immersive-ar? The lack of ar greatly reduces the Vision Pro experience.

I agree with @nomadsole, @Vision Pro Engineer. Can we please get an update on this? And where can we file the feedback request? Building experiences for WebXR is definitely very attractive for smaller developers who want to focus on multi-platform.

@briankrealityi Never mind about the feedback. I’ve done it more than once and didn’t even get a confirmation. Since one can “activate“ camera passthrough by calling out the control centre while in VR mode, I suspect AR passthrough has been built into safari for quite some time but deliberately disabled to force people use ARKit. It really sucks.

Another proof is the support of model tag in safari allowing placement of 3D models in AR. Without immersive-ar and webgpu binding, avp is functionally crippled and incomplete. It is an expensive toy without any practical use in any business settin.

[WebXR] Support for AR module in VisionOS 2.x
 
 
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