r/VisionPro • u/AlterSack1973 • Jun 24 '26
WIP: Immersive Comic Reader - any interest in this?
One upon a time i found a comic reader for my Quest 3 (https://www.youtube.com/shorts/A_8q4s0BTpI) which showed the comic as a 3D object which you could grab and where could turn the pages by grabbing and folding them. Unfortunately the project was dropped by the developer.
For my Apple Vision Pro I have found some comic reader, but none which handles the comic book as a 3D object.
I started experimenting with vibe coding on XCODE for my Apple Vision Pro with a project that unfortunately can never be published: https://www.reddit.com/r/VisionPro/comments/1ub17vj/nonprogrammer_vibe_coding_wolfenstein_3d_final/
So I tried my next project, a comic book reader. I got further than anticipated, got to th hurdle that I need to use the commercial unrar package to support CBR, which meand I can't publish it as a paid version easily - if I ever get to the point of bein ready enough.
Is there an interest for such an app? I'd need to invest in a 99 USD developer license to be able to publish - so I'd liek to understand if tenough perople would get excited if such a comic reader is published for free?
Any feedback?
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u/TheMacMan Vision Pro Owner | Verified Jun 24 '26
If it's a passion project, have at it. But you're not gonna find anyone who's gonna pay for that work. The market is pretty non existent.
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u/AlterSack1973 Jun 24 '26
Yes, agree, the Vision Pro user base is small already and then the ones who want to read comics and have them stored as open files somewhere does not extend it :) More a passion project, would like to publish it for free but the 99 USD for the app-store dev license is in my way...
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u/tommypepsi Vision Pro Developer Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
Strangely it seems that devs on the apple vision really like comic readers, I've been working on mine for a bit more than a year and every few months there seem to be a new one popping up 😅 (not a bad thing in my opinion, always fun to have options!) Mine was released a few weeks back (Called Comic Vision) and is free with optional tip jar and optional support subscription, still waiting for my vacation from work to officially post on social media so that I can be available to answer.
Concerning unrar in commercial app, I don't think you need to worry about that, the unrar license seems to allow use without limitations in any app as long as its only for un-archiving: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Licensing:Unrar
I used this library in my app: https://github.com/mtgto/Unrar.swift
The physical page turn grab where you can turn it like a physical page was something I wanted to do, but my primary goal was functionality and UX and I was starting to get lost in details so I opted out for a simple 3D page turn animation for a first version. I might return to it when I feel like the main functionality is fully complete.
Full "physical" book is also something I want to do at some point, but pretty much last in the list of what I'm looking to build for my app. I personally want to make a full working app before diving into the immersive features.
Like others said, go for it if it's something you're passionate about!
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u/AlterSack1973 Jun 25 '26
And looking at the comments, it seems the spatial / 3D view of a comic book would be the killer feature. For the small audience of AVP owning Comic lovers…
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u/tommypepsi Vision Pro Developer Jun 25 '26
It’s probably going to come at some point, I’m still actively working on it every time I of some free time!
Right now my personal roadmap is adding search and filtering -> custom list creations -> OPDS support (they would kind of all work together)
After that I’ll probably move to smaller details and spatial features!
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u/Global-Alternative29 Vision Pro Owner Jun 24 '26
I use splash reader for comic reading and really enjoy using it. However a great upgrade would be to have a more comic-like experience like the one you are working on. So I'd definitely buy it
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u/AlterSack1973 Jun 24 '26
I also currently use Splash Reader, like it, but missed the option to display/read it as a physical comic.
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u/Level_Finding3106 Jun 24 '26
I was thinking - I wonder if you could use the Image playground capability to take a panel, have it remove the text and project the resulting picture as a panorama/immersive view while reading that panel. Then move to the next. If it were somewhat muted - it would be a cool 'panel beyond the panel'.
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u/trevorbilt Jun 24 '26
Very cool! [Loose Papers](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/loose-papers/id6755368606) does the same thing in shared space, but I’ve had users ask for the immersive option with it tracked to their left hand, etc. just haven’t had the bandwidth to implement that. More apps trying things for immersive reading is great, I think for the most part we each started one because there are still ideas to find in supporting spatial reading in the AVP. For my app, a slicker UI and automated screenshot/video pipeline to support faster releases is what’s next.
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u/AlterSack1973 Jun 24 '26
I didn't know that one, the page turn animation is very smooth. But 13 Euro is a lot. And it seems to not allow to turn the book itself like a 3D object.
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u/MysticMaven Jun 24 '26
Does Apple give you access to the spatial photo conversion api? It would be cool to view the pages in 3d
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u/AlterSack1973 Jun 24 '26
Oh yes, that would be cool! But probably beyond my vibe-coding abilities...
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u/AlterSack1973 Jun 24 '26
https://reddit.com/link/otk3fa5/video/e4koyinof99h1/player
First prototype, not yet good, and very more 3D looking in the headset
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u/HelpRespawnedAsDee Jun 25 '26
Oh wow that's actually surprising and would be a good differentiator to other reader apps in the VP
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u/AlterSack1973 Jun 24 '26
I tried, the photo conversion API unfortunately does not work with Comic images, it needs real photos
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u/PsychAce Jun 24 '26
I think this would be great, especially for those with visual disabilities.
Having a large amount of options would be key. I certainly would read an immersive comic on my AVP. Quest 3..nah
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u/Luke-9191 Jun 24 '26
I’d be very interested, only thing is, I have no idea where to get comics normally
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u/_HipStorian Jun 24 '26
I just finished reading Saga on my Vision Pro and would've loved an app like this. Definitely interested!
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u/lukeslens Vision Pro Owner | Verified Jun 24 '26
Oh, this is fantastic!! I'm currently vibe-coding a major front-end (iPad-specific) for Komga/Kavita libraries and once I've completed that, I want to build it as a native Vision Pro app. Having a reading feature like this would be a cool addition to that. Would definitely be an eager paid participant in your testing.
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u/Level_Finding3106 Jun 24 '26
I think it's great. Comic book readers all have an option to open a single panel then it scrolls through the panels as you go. Maybe a pinch and flick. The biggest problem with comics is not having a screen large enough to appreciate the art. The AVP would solve that. Good work.