The brief was to create photorealistic Environments that are inspiring, focused and calming, allowing users to be transported away from the noise of the real world. They should offer an infinite canvas for Apps, spatial FaceTime, collaboration, and more.

Apple Vision Pro Environments are expansive spaces inspired by nature, which can serve as a backdrop to Apps or be enjoyed on their own. By dialing the Digital Crown, users set their level of immersion.

Each Environment is curated using real world locations. They are carefully crafted with light and dark modes to suit the user’s mood or the task at hand. Environments are built with six degrees of freedom allowing users to freely move within the space. Along with spatial audio, this creates the feeling of actually being in the place rather than simply looking at it.

To make Environments, the team traveled to each location to photograph 360° panoramas, lidar scan the terrain, record audio and capture video reference. In post-production, the lidar was converted into meshes onto which photography was projected. For objects close to the user, where parallax is more critical, full CG props would be built.

To add more life and further enhance realism, all Environments include some form of animation such as flowing skies, trees that blow in the wind, and water surfaces displaced by falling rain. Sunbeams cast rays through the clouds as shadows gently roll over the terrain. For Environments covered in sand and snow, tiny glints reflect the sunlight.

Each Environment has its own acoustic model derived from the geometry and surface materials of the location, allowing for accurate reverberation in the sound design.

Environments are also designed with a bespoke experience for watching media. The screen animates into the scene at a large scale and light is cast onto the terrain for a unique experience that would be impossible in the real world.