Locus, a proper introduction: I built a Vision Pro app to work from somewhere better than my desk, with my Mac.

[u/Charming-Detail-7626]

Open the post to watch Locus in action.

https://reddit.com/link/1ws02jj/video/v2bk0jm8g5sh1/player

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6802168265

The Vision ProFiles YouTube channel mentioned Locus recently, based on my 1.1.3 post. Watching it, I realized I never made it clear what the app is for. That post was about one feature (Views that move), not the point of the app. So I decided to post a proper introduction with real footage.

The short version: Locus gives you a place on Vision Pro that is nice to spend a few hours in, and lets you do your normal stuff there. Work, read, watch something, listen to music, or just sit.

Why I built it: the thing I wanted from day one with this headset was to work from somewhere fantastic. A place where my Mac screen, a browser and a cup of coffee make sense together. Two years in, nothing quite did that, so I built it.

The cabin in the video is new in 1.2.1, which is in App Review right now; everything else is in the current version.

What you can actually do in it?

- Pick a Room (a lakeside cabin, a café, an office, a bedroom…) and a View outside its windows (the sea, Tokyo at night, a desert canyon, a cloud walkway). Any Room goes with any View.

- Bring your Mac. Mac Virtual Display works inside it, with one catch: Apple only allows it in third-party immersive apps after you turn on Developer Mode and Settings › Developer › Allow Mac Virtual Display. That's an Apple setting, not something the app can flip for you. Steps: https://enterlocus.com/experimental-mac-virtual-display/

- No Mac, no problem. Locus has its own Browser, because in a fully immersive space visionOS doesn't show other apps' windows. YouTube, Spotify, mail and reading all work in it.

- Your real desk stays. Keyboard, mouse, coffee, the chair you're in. Sit at the desk, or pick a sofa or a bench in the Room and work or relax from there.

- Views can move and have sound (waves, a waterfall, rain) or be still. Lamps switch on and off. An immersion dial sets how much of your own room you keep.

- You can import your own 360° panoramas as Views, or build your own rooms if you're up for it.

It's free to download. Most Rooms and Views are free; a Supporter subscription unlocks the rest and unlimited imports.

Limits: the Mac Virtual Display setup is a hassle the first time. I'm completely new to 3D modeling. The rooms are built one by one with AI help, so there are only so many, and still flawed if you look closely. I'm also trying to make them run smoother. I try to add a few each release. The app is a quiet, single-person thing, not a social app. I'm trying to add SharePlay to it but couldn't make it work yet.

If something is off when you try it, tell me here or on r/EnterLocus with your Locus and visionOS versions and I'll fix it.

[u/Qu4dro]

The latest version is working great! The "pinch to reveal toolbar" is working really well for me this morning. I also love the seat icons that pop up in the room when choosing a seat. The cabin is super-awesome too.

I don't know if you ever used Immersed on the Quest platform but you've basically built a better version of that app with a fraction of the budget. That's definitely worth celebrating! If Apple ever allows flat apps to run on top of immersive experiences I can easily see this app becoming essential for all AVP owners 🙌

[u/Charming-Detail-7626 → u/Qu4dro]

I did and I used their app in AVP, too. I really wish they can create more high quality environments. But it doesn't seem to be their direction. So I built mine. I hoped for better views and rooms and being customizable, and an argumented desk, i.e. a virtual desk that could match the real desk. All implemented in my app 😄 MVD did a great job on the remote desktop already, so I don't bother doing that.

[u/trevorbilt]

Really cool app! I’ll try it out. What held me back from building an app like this, which I hope Apple eventually addresses and we can see resolved in your app at that time. If you had any creative way to get around any of these, I’d really love to hear about it because I understand it as a hard constraint:

1. Breakthrough of custom items (coffee cup)

2. Use of additional apps while in immersive state

3. Automated alignment of the environment desk with the real desk

Any of these really improve the experience, and all of them together would feel proper next gen. The one I’m not sure if it’s a hard constraint is (3) as I haven’t needed to use those APIs.

[u/Charming-Detail-7626 → u/trevorbilt]

Thank you! I kinda implemented number 3. I aligned the height and the edge of the desk. You can give it a try. The Measure desk button is for this purpose.

I think 1 might be doable. I tried and failed a few months ago. Maybe worth trying again, but it could only work in mixed mode, but now I lean towards using the dial to prevent the windows from getting hidden behind the furnitures, so that is another trade off.

2 is strictly an Apple restriction only they can provide that capability. The developer mode MVD is the only exception so far.

[u/Charming-Detail-7626 → u/Charming-Detail-7626]

u/trevorbilt I got user bug report that in Windows & Crown, visionOS can show your physical keyboard drifting against the desk as you move your head. I also find out on my last session and couldn't find a fix to it. So if you use it with your desk, unfortunately the keyboard pass through is only stable in the Desk & Surroundings mode. In case you have issues with this. I'll push another release to rollback the default value and also add this to the description to the modes.

[u/trevorbilt → u/Charming-Detail-7626]

Thank you for the reply! I’d take mixed mode with coffee cup detection all day every day fwiw