by Dan Moren
Apple details Vision Pro entertainment experiences
The run-up to the Vision Pro launch continues. Apple on Tuesday shared some new information on the entertainment experiences users can expect, alongside recapping previously announced features like immersive Environments.
Among the content that will be available at launch is a catalog of 150 3D movies, including recent releases like Dune and *Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; if you buy or have already purchased a movie that has a 3D version, you’ll get that for free. Apple also says some third-party services, including Disney+, will offer 3D versions of movies at launch.
It also provided specific information about content available as Apple Immersive Video, a 180-degree video format that puts users in the middle of an experience. At launch, that will include an Alicia Keys rehearsal session, a series following athletes including a tight-rope walk over the fjords, close encounters with wild life, and an immersive film with dinosaurs from Jon Favreau. That last one is also the launching point for an app called Encounter Dinosaur that will let you interact with three-dimensional models of the creatures. (At least some of these experiences were demoed for press last June.)
Unsurprisingly, the primary third-party partner mentioned for Vision Pro content is Disney, whose CEO Bob Iger also appeared during the keynote introducing the device. Apple confirms that Disney+ subscribers get access to their own immersive environments for watching content, including a theater inspired by Hollywood’s El Capitan, Monster, Inc.‘s Scare Floor, the Avengers Tower, and—in a shot no doubt aimed directly at me—Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder on Tatooine.
With just three days before the Vision Pro goes up for pre-order, and about two and a half weeks from release, Apple is clearly making a push to drive home the value of the Vision Pro, in an attempt to forestall criticism that the device is expensive and doesn’t have a clear use case.