Apple could tie up with Sony for a critical Vision Pro upgrade

Apple hasn’t quite tasted the domain-shifting success it expected with the Vision Pro headset. A price tag worth $3,500 was already a deterrent, but the gaming ecosystem — a key driver for the VR segment — has also been lackluster. The company is now hoping to fix that situation with some help from Sony.

According to Bloomberg, the two companies have been working together to bring support for the PlayStation VR 2’s controllers to the pricey Apple headset. “Apple has discussed the plan with third-party developers, asking them if they’d integrate support into their games,” adds the report.

Interestingly, both parties were expected to officially confirm the compatibility weeks ago, but it seems there were some technical snags, and as a result, the announcement has been pushed further into the future. There is no word when the partnership will materialize, as per the report, and there’s a chance it could also get nixed.

As part of the deal, Sony is expected to sell the PlayStation VR 2 controller via Apple’s online storefront as well as brick-and-mortar outlets. The Apple Store already sells third-party accessories, such as those from Belkin and the Sony PlayStation DualSense Wireless controller, too.

So far, the Vision Pro has lacked any meaningful support for third-party VR controllers, even though it supports regular gamepads from the likes of Sony, Microsoft, and 8BitDo. That status quo has expectedly hurt the headset’s VR gaming ambitions.

The majority of VR games depend on specialized motion controllers, making a shift to hand and eye tracking a significant technical hurdle. Apple, on the other hand, has been bullish on hand- and eye-based gesture controls for using the Vision Pro.

However, the company hasn’t quite dismissed the need for physical controllers for precise interactions and the added sense of intimacy that comes with haptic-motion feedback in virtual reality applications, especially games. On the contrary, the company reportedly tried dedicated VR gear for the Vision Pro but ultimately canceled those plans.

“The company explored the idea of a finger-worn device that would work as a controller,” says a Bloomberg report from 2023. It adds that Apple explored using third-party VR controllers, such as those from HTC, but ultimately prioritized hand and eye tracking over physical controllers.

The Sony partnership, however, could be consequential not just for VR gaming on the Vision Pro but for navigating visionOS in general. The two companies have reportedly worked to optimize the PlayStation VR 2 controller’s D-Pad, trigger buttons, and thumbsticks for tasks like scrolling and clicking.

This would be another functional win, especially for users who prefer a more controlled approach to OS interactions using physical devices instead of eye and motion gestures. Moving beyond corporate partnerships, we have endeavors like iVRy that aim to bring StramVR and the accompanying controller support to the Vision Pro headset.

Will Apple’s work with Sony open the doors for a new wave of MFi-certified VR controllers for the Vision Pro? That seems unlikely. Bloomberg’s report mentions that Apple has only managed to sell around half a million units, and the developer enthusiasm for creating original games for the Vision Pro isn’t particularly high, either.