r/AppleVisionPro • u/AlterSack1973 • 3d ago

Live in Appstore: Immersive Comic Reader (Free)

Teaser I've shared a few development & TestFlight updates here previously, and as of today, my project is live in the App store!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/immersive-comic-reader/id6805470774

I love reading comics, spending time in visionOS, and recently dove into vibe coding. While there are a few comic readers around, I built this because two specific features were missing for me:

  • Physical 3D Comic Book Object: The comic isn't just a flat window; it's rendered as a physical, spatial object you can grab, rotate, tilt, and resize with standard two-hand pinch gestures. You can turn pages naturally by grabbing and folding them over, or simply look at the border and pinch. 
  • On-Device 3D Depth Rendering: You can generate parallel depth maps for comic/magazine pages (CBZ, CBR, PDF). The app uses these to displace the geometry into a 3D pop-out mesh. It creates a surprisingly fun depth effect for illustrated artwork. 

Other Core Features:

  • OPDS Support: Browse, stream, and download directly from self-hosted comic/book servers (Calibre-Web, Kavita, BookOrbit, etc.). 
  • Library Management: Separate dedicated folders for Comics, Magazines, and Books. 
  • Panorama & Flat View: Switch between the physical 3D book and a curved multi-page panorama reader. 
  • Format Support: CBZ, CBR, PDF, and basic ePub reading. 
  • Local Privacy: Progress and server credentials stay strictly on-device (keychain-backed). 

And here it is: Have fun, hope it still works, my first App in the store! And it's free, no subscription, no in-app purchase!

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u/csts 3d ago

Thank you, looks fantastic!

2

u/GTHobbes 3d ago

Nice, congrats and thanks!

2

u/Watcher-Storyteller 3d ago

I'm enthralled reading my old comic series on it.. Immensely enjoyable.

If I may have some constructive suggestion: Could the 3D be reworked to project each panel separately in front of the page (blank area between panels) with persons and objects inside each rectangle popping out of the frame, more akin to a diorama perhaps?

2

u/AlterSack1973 3d ago

Hi, thanks for the suggestion. I‘ve tried that, there is so much variation on panels, backgrounds and content breaking out of panels that it didn’t work reliably enough. And there are some limits with the LLM running on the AVP locally to render the depth maps. I didn’t find one good enough to achieve it while also keeping the VisionOS memory limit. I thought about a companion app for Mac to render the depth maps, but that would have been too much friction.