If the Apple Vision Pro were a little more comfortable to wear for long periods, I think it could replace my Apple Studio Display as the external display for my MacBook Pro.
Mac Virtual Display lets you view your Mac screen on the spatial computer and use your Mac trackpad or mouse to share the pointer between your Mac and Apple Vision Pro. In visionOS 2.2 or later, and macOS 15.2 or later, you can also change the aspect ratio of the Mac screen—up to a 32:9 ultrawide screen that wraps around you—and hear audio from your Mac through the Audio Straps on Apple Vision Pro.
(At the end of this article, you can find the requirements for pairing your Vision Pro with your Mac.)
How to connect a Vision Pro to your Mac
While wearing Apple Vision Pro, open Control Center, then choose your Mac.
If that doesn’t work, go to System Settings, click Displays, the “+” button, then choose Apple Vision Pro
If you’re using a MacBook, you may be able to simply look at your MacBook (make sure the Mac display is on), then tap Connect.
You can change the size of the Mac screen and move it towards or away from you, just like an app window in visionOS.
While you’re connected, you can use your trackpad or mouse with your Mac as you normally would, as well as for visionOS apps. If you move the mouse or trackpad while looking at a window, the pointer appears in that window. You can also continue using gestures to work with your visionOS apps. To disconnect, tap the X icon.
How to Change the size of your Mac screen
After you’ve connected to your Mac, tap Mac Virtual Display above the window, then choose Standard, Wide, or Ultrawide.
The Mac Virtual Display feature was available with the Vision Pro as soon as it debuted. However, everything seemed cramp and increasing the resolution made text too small for my aging eyes. But that has been rectified with visionOS 2.2.
The Standard Mac display is now curved, and it seems sharper. Not Retina-sharp at the highest resolutions, but not bad. But to really make things interesting, forget the Standard resolution, and go with Wide or Ultrawide.
You can pump up the resolution in Ultrawide to an incredible 10240 x 2880, but that’s probably overkill for most folks (it is for me). Thankfully, you can play around with the resolution settings to find what works best for you.
What works best for me is the Wide setting with 3360 x 1440 (the default) resolution.
Glitches yet to be resolved
There are still a few glitches to be worked out. Switching between resolutions can be slow. The Vision Pro/Mac combo never remembered the settings from one session to another. But the tweaked Mac Virtual Display is a killer feature for the spatial computer.
Second, if you’re working and decide to take a break and watch a movie stored in your Apple TV app library, it won’t play on the Vision Pro. That is, it won’t play completely — the audio plays, but there’s no video. And it doesn’t matter whether you set it on Standard, Wide, or Ultrawide mode.
Finally, one of the problems with using the Vision Pro as a display is bringing a drink (for instance, a coffee cup) to your lips. The cup tends to bump against the spatial computer. The solution: use a straw.
And the crowing touch: audio is now played through the Vision Pro rather than the Mac’s speakers, as before.
What you need to use Mac Virtual Display
Both devices must be signed in to the same Apple Account using two-factor authentication.
To use Mac Virtual Display, your Mac must have macOS 14.0 or later installed. If you want to adjust the aspect ratio of the screen, your Apple Vision Pro must have visionOS 2.2 or later, and your Mac (with Apple silicon) must have macOS 15.2 or later.
Both devices need iCloud Keychain turned on. On your Mac, go to System Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Passwords & Keychain (if you don’t see Passwords & Keychain, first click See All), then turn on Sync this Mac. On your Apple Vision Pro, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Saved to iCloud > Passwords, then turn on Sync this Apple Vision Pro.
Both devices must be within 30 feet)of each other and have Bluetooth and Wi-Fi turned on. Neither device can be sharing its internet connection.
If you want to share the pointer between your macOS and visionOS apps, Handoff must be turned on on both devices. On Apple Vision Pro, go to Settings > General > Handoff. On your Mac, go to System Settings > General > AirDrop & Handoff.
One thing you should note: when you’re using Mac Virtual Display, you can’t use iPhone Mirroring with your Mac.
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