Alternatives to SceneView

nvrmnd

RealityKit and RealityView are my suggestions.

I think you were on the right track with gestures + RealityView:

I tried to add Gestures to the RealityView on iOS - loading USDZ 3D models worked but the gestures didn’t).

We can use SwiftUI gestures with RealityKit entities. Things like TapGesture, DragGesture, etc. There is a bit of work needed to make these work with RealityKit.

• Load you model in a RealityView as an entity
• Add components to the entity: InputTargetComponent and CollisionComponent are both required to use system gestures with entities.
• The gesture code needs to target entities

Example using targetedToAnyEntity.

    var tapExample: some Gesture {
        TapGesture()
            .targetedToAnyEntity() // 3. make sure to use this line to target entities
            .onEnded { value in
                if selected === value.entity {
                    // If the same entity is tapped, lower it and deselect.
                    selected?.position.y = 0
                    selected = nil
                } else {
                    // Lower the previously selected entity (if any).
                    selected?.position.y = 0

                    // Raise the new entity and select it.
                    value.entity.position.y = 0.1
                    selected = value.entity
                }
            }
    }

Hello @ggintli , thank you for your question!

@radicalappdev has provided a great answer (thank you!), I just want to chime in and +1 the suggestion to use RealityView with a TapGesture, DragGesture, etc. I recommend taking a look at the sample project BOT-anist, as it is a cross-platform RealityKit project that contains RealityViews with gestures.

You mentioned you would like to have Model3D for iOS: I recommend filing an enhancement request for this via Feedback Assistant, and include as much detail about your use case as possible.

I know your app is not for visionOS, but for anyone else reading: in visionOS 26 in RealityKit, we introduce a new API manipulable(coordinateSpace:operations:inertia:isEnabled:onChanged:) that you can apply to a Model3D that makes it easier to implement these interactions.

Thank you!

import SwiftUI
import RealityKit

struct ContentView: View {
	var body: some View {
		RealityView { content in
			content.camera = .virtual

			// content.add(entity)
		}
		.realityViewCameraControls(.orbit)
	}
}