RealityKit

RealityKit

Build AR experiences on iOS using RealityKit for rendering and ARKit for world tracking. Covers RealityView, entity management, raycasting, scene understanding, and gesture-based interactions. Targets Swift 6.3 / iOS 26+.

Contents

• Setup
• RealityView Basics
• Loading and Creating Entities
• Anchoring and Placement
• Raycasting
• Gestures and Interaction
• Scene Understanding
• Common Mistakes
• Review Checklist
• References

Setup

Project Configuration

1. Add NSCameraUsageDescription to Info.plist
2. On iOS, RealityViewCameraContent displays an AR camera view by default (iOS 18+, macOS 15+); use .virtual camera mode for explicit non-AR fallback
3. No entitlement is required for basic AR. If AR is core to the app, add the arkit required-device capability; otherwise gate AR UI with isSupported.

Device Requirements

Check the exact AR configuration's isSupported value before presenting AR UI.

import ARKit

guard ARWorldTrackingConfiguration.isSupported else {
    showUnsupportedDeviceMessage()
    return
}