Use gestures with Apple Vision Pro
Find out how to have the best experience with the hand gestures you use to interact with visionOS.
Tips for the best experience
Bear these things in mind when using your hands to navigate Apple Vision Pro:
Use Apple Vision Pro in a well-lit area and make sure it’s clean and free of smudges.
You don’t have to hold your arm up when you interact with Apple Vision Pro. You can rest your hand comfortably on your desk or in your lap when making most gestures.
Make sure your hands are visible to Apple Vision Pro and not hidden under a desk or a blanket.
Gloves, long sleeves or large jewellery that covers a significant part or all of your hands can affect how Apple Vision Pro tracks your gestures. If you’re experiencing any issues when using gestures, try removing these items.
Don‘t cross your hands or cover up your gesturing hand with your other hand.
Tap your thumb and finger together to select an item
To select an item in Apple Vision Pro, look at an element and tap your thumb and index finger together.
Tapping your thumb and index finger together is like tapping something on your iPhone or clicking something on your Mac – use this gesture to select an app, open a link in Safari, select and view notifications, and more.
Pinch and drag to move items around
To move items around in Apple Vision Pro, look at an item and then pinch your thumb and index finger together. Hold your thumb and finger together as you move the item to where you want it, then let go.
Use the pinch-and-drag gesture to do things such as arranging apps using their window bar, resizing a shape in Freeform or dragging an image from Photos into an iMessage. You can also pinch and drag to scroll slowly and precisely through content.
Pinch and flick your wrist to scroll
To move or scroll quickly through content, pinch your thumb and index finger together, flick your wrist up or down, then let go in one smooth motion.
Use this gesture to do things such as moving horizontally through your apps in Home View, scrolling through a long web page or browsing in Photos.
Look at your palm and tap to open Home View
Place your hand in front of you, palm facing in. When the button appears, tap to open Home View.
Look at your palm, then flip your hand to see Control Centre
Place your hand in front of you, palm facing in. When the button appears, flip your hand over so your palm is facing out to show a simple status bar with the current time and battery level. Tap again and Control Centre will open, giving you quick access to frequently used features, such as Notifications, Mac Virtual Display and more.
While looking at the status bar, pinch and hold your fingers together and move them side to side to adjust volume.
To open Control Centre in an earlier version of visionOS, look up, then tap the Control Centre Button
that appears. If you have visionOS 2 or later and you want to be able to open Control Centre with either a gesture or by looking up, go to Settings > Accessibility > Interaction, then turn on Look Upwards for Control Centre.
Pinch and hold to see more options
Pinch and hold an item in Apple Vision Pro to see more options. Look at an item, tap and hold your thumb and index finger together. When you see more options, let go and then tap to select the option you want.
Use this gesture to show link previews in Safari, hide other apps by pinching and holding one app’s close button, and more.
Touch
You can interact with certain elements in visionOS directly with your fingers. For example, when the visionOS virtual keyboard appears, you can type by touching the keys directly with one finger on each hand.
Find out more
Find out what to do if your Apple Vision Pro isn’t responding to gestures as expected.
Apple Vision Pro offers a range of Accessibility settings that can change how you interact with your device based on your needs. Find out more about Accessibility features on Apple Vision Pro
