Tonight, Apple will debut new immersive video content, the first sports content for the Vision Pro headset. But it doesn't seem like a big deal that there hasn't been any new content for two months.
Starting at 6 PM PT/9 PM ET, Vision Pro users will be able to watch sports films captured in the platform's immersive video format. The video is part of a series of highlights from last year's Major League Soccer (MLS) playoffs and will only run for five minutes, according to Six Colors. Available free to all Vision Pro users.
On February 2, Apple released what appears to be the first episode of a three-part immersive video series. adventure, prehistoric planetand wild animals. Each debuted with one episode, labeled “Episode 1” of “Season 1”, coinciding with the release of Vision Pro.
But almost two months have passed and neither of those series have received any new episodes. The only piece of immersive video content available is an Alicia Keyes performance video, which also debuted on February 2nd. Most of these videos were only a few minutes long.
This means that this short football video depicting a 2023 sporting moment will be the only new piece of immersive video content Apple has put out since the device launched in early February.
When we reviewed the Vision Pro as an entertainment device, we praised its ability to watch 2D movies and videos, but we also talked a bit about its 3D video capabilities. I said Apple's first original 3D content looked promising and I'm looking forward to future episodes. Given that the TV app is labeled as an Apple TV+ series, we assumed it would arrive consistently each week. The next episode hasn't come out.
Notably, Apple hasn't included a first-party app for playing 3D video downloaded from the web using Vision Pro, but an independent developer has filled that gap with an app called Reality Player. The VisionOS App Store has a few 3D video streaming or download services, but the selection is vast compared to what other headsets can access.
Apple isn't calling the Vision Pro a VR headset, instead opting for the term “spatial computing.” This is understandable, as it does much more than most VR headsets.
But if you're looking for a new example of the kind of passive viewing content you can enjoy on other headsets, the Vision Pro still lags far behind the competition two months later.
The device is capable of displaying rich 2D video content, but this gives the initial impression that Vision Pro is intended to view flat 2D content as a window into 3D space. The situation for apps and games is not so dire, with several new space apps launching in the category in recent weeks.
Most apps behave like iPad apps in that the content has a 2D viewport. You can place that viewport anywhere you want in the surrounding space. Most video content is also 2D.
There are situations where it would be nice to have it, but it's surprising that Apple hasn't invested more in actual 3D content yet. As for new content, this short football video debuting tonight is all we have for now.
Listing image: Samuel Axon