Apple’s Vision Pro team has detailed the intricate design process behind the new Amalthea environment in visionOS 26. In an interview, product marketer Yuri Imoto and Human Interface Designer Matt Dessero explained how they craft immersive spaces, starting with a core question: what mood should the environment evoke—calm, focus, or wonder?

Without the ability to scan Jupiter’s moon, Apple relied on scientific theory from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. JPL hypothesized that Amalthea is a rubble pile of rocks bound by ice, a detail the design team strived to represent visually. This collaboration provided the factual foundation for a purely virtual space.

The critical design work happened inside the Vision Pro headset itself. Dessero guided artists while wearing the device to perfect composition and scale, noting that getting the placement of every rock in the foreground right was essential. This in-headset workflow ensures the final environment feels physically plausible and immersive.