Wesley's Tool-Box

You may need to type in words or sentences in the Apple Vision Pro from time to time, be it for searching something in the Internet or writing up a memo. If you need to write something long, the best way to do this would be to connect a Bluetooth keyboard like you see here. Tactile feedback and touch typing makes things comfortable and quick.

For short inputs, the integrated virtual keyboard that you control with the hand gestures is the way to go. The problem is, the visionOS only supports English as of version 1.1. The only other alternative is emojis, and you can't yet add another language or a 3rd party keyboard.

This is probably an artificial limitation set by Apple since the product was initially launched in the U.S. only. Still, it means that there's no native way of entering Korean text. Bluetooth keyboard follows the layout setting on the virtual keyboard, and there's no Korean language layout to switch to. In other words, it's stuck in English unless some workarounds are applied. So what are they?

One thing I tried to find was an app that had an integrated Korean keyboard. Most of the apps in the App Store right now simply installs a keyboard layout in the system. But as they are not tailored to the visionOS, the layout is ignored. A keyboard that appears within an app from its own code is therefore necessary.

Fortunately, I did find a few of such apps. Unfortunately, most of them did not work properly in the Vision Pro. As you can see, the vowels and consonants are not assembled as they are typed. This makes the apps useless.

After some searching, I eventually found an app that did work right - the Naver Dictionary app. The KR keyboard that pops up assembles the characters as one expects it to, and you can also copy the words for you to paste in another app. It can be left open as a sort of helper app when you need to enter some Korean words quick.

There was one downside, however. It does not work in tandem with a Bluetooth keyboard. Even when the KR keyboard is enabled, input from the physical keyboard come out in English. Does that mean the physical keyboard is useless?

Apparently not. An alternative to a "keyboard app" is an online keyboard provided by some websites. You can type on the keys displayed on such a website to type in Korean or any other language. I found this method to be less comfortable than a dedicated app for a virtual keyboard replacement because the page can scroll around with an unintended gesture and the ads can be distracting.

However, most of them work quite well with a Bluetooth keyboard. The key presses from a Bluetooth keyboard will follow the language setting of the online keyboard, so it'll be typed in Korean as long as the text input box of the website is in focus.

If you're willing to try a hardware other than a physical keyboard, there are even more options. There are apps like "Typos" that let you send whatever text you're typing on an iPhone straight to the Vision Pro in real-time. In other words, you can use your phone as an external keyboard. It can send in whatever language you set your phone, so Korean input is just as easy as English. The companion app on the Vision Pro side lets you copy the content to be pasted on another app.

Interestingly, you don't technically need a 3rd party app for this. The basic Notes app will automatically synchronize notes you typed on one device to another as long as it's connected to iCloud, so it can be used in a similar manner. However, it might not be as an elegant solution for a quick, short typing.

As Vision Pro rolls out in other countries and the SDK matures, I'm sure the Korean input situation will improve in due time. But for the Korean users who need the functionality right now, I believe these options are the best they have for now.