While the Apple Vision Pro is one of the best spatial computers money can buy, touch is one sense it can’t fake. But a newly granted Apple patent hints at a new stylus that can simulate the texture of virtual surfaces on your hand.
The Apple Vision Pro is capable of showing virtual surfaces with great clarity, but it lacks haptic feedback. But the new sort of Apple Pencil could close that gap and make the headset’s XR experiences physical for the first time.
Apple Pencil for Vision Pro?
The patent, titled “Surface texture detection and emulation” and published Tuesday, concerns a stylus that isn’t limited to drawing. The tip could have cameras, interferometers and surface sensors, allowing users to feel the texture of virtual objects in their hands. Apple’s patent application describes it as providing “increased immersion during XR sessions.”
The gadget would also pack a built-in gyroscope that could change the feel of the surface when you roll the stylus. It could use linear actuators that would physically extend or contract part of the device. The haptic engine also might generate friction, feel the roughness of the surface, and vibrate on demand.
Apple’s patent runs 12,000 words long, spanning nine pages with plenty of technical drawings, which means the company might be serious about it.
Image: Apple
It’s way better than gloves
This isn’t the first time Apple has explored ways to bring touch to the Vision Pro. Earlier concepts pointed to gloves, but that was before the Vision Pro came into existence. An Apple Pencil-like stylus seems more practical, since picking something up is easier than putting on gloves.
It is also interesting to note that this isn’t Apple’s first attempt to make a texture-sensing Apple Pencil. An Apple patent discovered in 2023 hinted at a similar tech that involved scanning physical surfaces for color and textures. However, that device was designed for the real world, not virtual reality.
Apple might actually do this
As is the case with any Apple patents, this Apple Pencil for the Vision Pro could never see the light of day. Still, we have some good reasons why it could translate into a real product.
It’s not just an application but a granted patent, and it also fits into Apple’s plan for the Vision Pro. And with just a few days left until WWDC26, we probably don’t have long to wait before we find out Apple’s vision for the Vision Pro.
