Apple released visionOS 27 today as a free update for both the original M2 Apple Vision Pro and the M5 model. MacRumors confirmed the drop this morning (PDT), with install available under Settings → General → Software Update. The headset must come off during install; progress shows on EyeSight.
This is the shipping beat, not another preview. Metaverse Watcher already covered the Monday prep checklist and the M2/M5 feature split. The software is live now.
Siri AI and Visual Intelligence
The headline consumer change is Siri AI on Apple Vision Pro with M2 and later. Apple’s release notes (via MacRumors) describe a more conversational assistant with personal context, app actions, onscreen awareness, and world knowledge. You can pin Siri in space, look-and-speak without “Hey Siri,” and open a dedicated Siri app that syncs conversations over iCloud.
Visual Intelligence lets wearers ask about physical objects in the room or content on screen by looking at them. Write with Siri covers drafting and editing wherever you type. Customizable Siri voice expressivity and pace remains an M5-only path using on-device models; everything else in the Siri AI block is listed for both headsets.
Spatial scenes, Thórsmörk, curved windows
Spatial Experiences land as promised at WWDC: panoramas convert into spatial scenes with depth; Personal Environments let you set a panorama as your Environment; Safari, Freeform, and Apple TV Multiview get windows with curvature. Spatial Preview pulls 3D models from supported macOS apps via Mac Virtual Display at true scale with live edits. Freeform gains spatial groups. Safari can render immersive 360° web environments.
The new built-in Environment is Thórsmörk — Iceland, with a daytime river view and a night aurora variant. That matches Apple’s developer “what’s new” framing for the consumer Environment set.
System polish that actually matters in-headset
Apple lists faster post-boot Wi-Fi (up to 3×), look-to-expand notifications, a Control Center split into notifications/playback, core controls, and Environments, extra-small widgets, and a Mac Virtual Display widget. High-quality recording can capture an unfoveated 4K view for up to three minutes, with high-resolution mirroring of the recording to another device.
Accessibility adds Look to Drive for compatible powered wheelchairs and updated Dwell Control that confirms with a glance at a selection marker instead of waiting out a timer.
Developer side: still the bigger platform story
Apple’s visionOS what’s new page keeps the developer weight on RealityKit (physical space lighting, projective textures, cloth sim, Gaussian Splats, Reverb Mesh), Reality Composer Pro 3 with Live Preview, Spatial Preview framework, enhanced object tracking, and Immersive Media Support upgrades. Game engines get clearer Vision Pro paths for Unity, Godot, and CompositorServices. That stack is why today’s consumer ship matters beyond Siri screenshots.
How to install
On-device: Settings → General → Software Update. Apple’s Vision Pro update guide remains the canonical flow. If you followed yesterday’s iCloud backup note, you are already in the right posture. Siri AI starts in English; additional languages for the assistant have been described as an October follow-on in earlier coverage — treat language expansion as staged, not day-one global.
Sources: MacRumors (Sep 14, 2026); Apple Developer — What’s new in visionOS; 9to5Mac release-date lock (Sep 9).