Adobe Firefly is coming to the Apple Vision Pro – and it’s a wild mix of AI art and AR
The Apple Vision Pro combines virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), with the latter function making it possible to overlay digital elements on top of the real world. Now Adobe has just unveiled a great way to use its artificial intelligence (AI) image generator Firefly AI to brighten up your surroundings while wearing Apple’s headset.
According to a press release from Adobe (via The Verge), Firefly AI is available as a native visionOS app, meaning it’s tailor-made for Apple’s device. When you install it on the Vision Pro, you can enter an image generator prompt – like, for example, “a series of ancient Greek ruins against a moonlit sky” – and view the results in augmented reality.
Better yet, Firefly AI lets you pin the resulting images to your environment. That could be a great way to get virtual wall art and perhaps see what an image might look like in different locations in your home. That might make it a great tool to use before starting your home renovation or planning how to decorate your home.
Adobe also said it is working on a new feature that can create “wraparound panoramas, 360-degree environments and more” for the Vision Pro. While the company hasn’t provided more information, it sounds like an intriguing use case for Apple’s headset.
Adobe Lightroom on Vision Pro
In addition to Firefly AI, Adobe also revealed that its popular Lightroom image editing app would also be coming to visionOS. Compared to the Mac version, the native visionOS app has a cleaner interface (much like the iPad edition of Lightroom), which should make it easier to use with the Vision Pro’s hand gestures.
These two apps from Adobe add to the growing list of native visionOS apps available from day one. Apple recently explained that there are more than 600 native visionOS apps ready to go, and with the Vision Pro officially launching in the US today, it’s likely many more apps will follow in the coming weeks and months.
That said, we can imagine that image editing on the Vision Pro takes its toll, as it can be quite a complicated task that requires a lot of concentration. According to a recent study from Stanford University (via AppleInsider), long-term use of headsets like the Vision Pro could lead to notable real-world side effects, such as simulator sickness and depth perception issues.
So while these new apps from Adobe can be a great way to pass the hours on the Vision Pro, it’s probably best not to use them for too long. But since the Vision Pro’s battery only lasts two hours at a time, the risk may be low at this point.