The Vision Pro has quickly become an essential item that I take onto every flight.
It’s a fantastic device to travel with—Be it by train or by plane, it offers an unparalleled opportunity to selectively tune out your environment and sink into an engaging activity like watching a movie or just working on your laptop.
In this blog post, I’ll outline what I’ve learned about the Vision Pro while traveling, explain some of the functionality, shine light onto its drawbacks, as well as assess how it fares against solutions like a phone or a laptop.
I haven’t been on a plane since I got my Vision Pro earlier this year; however, the next time I’ll be on a transatlantic flight, I plan on bringing mine and seeing how self-conscious I feel about it. Azad’s blog post has some great practical tips regarding using the Vision Pro during a flight, such as my favorite bit:
The problem is that for meals that require eyesight to coordinate (aka using a fork to pick up food from a plate), as soon as you look down at your food, the tracking often gets lost. This causes the movie to stop playing and for you to have to look forward for the tracking to re-initialize.
Additionally, the Vision Pro’s field of view is more horizontal than vertical (unlike most other VR headsets) which can make eating challenging, requiring me to fully tilt my head down to look at my food.
Alongside today’s debut of Submerged, the first scripted film captured in Apple Immersive Video, Apple also released a behind-the-scenes look at the film as well as details of immersive content coming to Apple Vision Pro users in the U.S. later this year. The Making of Submerged offers an inside look at the process behind shooting the immersive film. Writer/director Edward Berger and director of photography James Friend break down the unique considerations that went into telling a story in this new format.
Shot on location in Prague, Brussels, and Malta over three weeks, Submerged was filmed using a full-scale 23-ton submarine set made with real steel, brass, and metal that was modeled after WWII-era vessels. Significant portions of the set were built to withstand being fully submerged, and featured practical camera traps and special effects that were uniquely rigged to expose Apple Immersive Video cameras to sparks, steam, water, and fire without breaking viewers’ sense of immersion. Cast members who might appear out of frame or focus in a 2D feature were meticulously scripted, and participated in extensive stunt rehearsals, including freedive training in dive tanks and open water, to maintain continuity and realism.
It’s both fascinating and inspiring to see the ways the creative team behind Submerged adapted traditional filmmaking techniques to meet the challenges and embrace the opportunities of immersive video. The film itself is now available for Vision Pro owners to stream for free in the TV app in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, the U.K., and the U.S.
Apple has more immersive content on the way for Vision Pro users in the U.S. later this year, too, with global availability to follow. Here’s what fans of immersive video can expect:
2024 NBA All-Star Weekend: an immersive short film featuring footage from the event, including the Slam Dunk contest, the first-ever NBA vs. WNBA 3-Point Challenge, Stephen vs. Sabrina, the Rising Stars game, and highlights from the All-Star Game (available next Friday, October 17)
The Weeknd: an immersive music video for a new song from The Weeknd’s upcoming album, Hurry Up Tomorrow (available in November)
Adventure: a new episode of the extreme sports series centered on freediver Ant Williams’ attempt to best his record for the longest distance under ice with just a single breath (available in December)
Concert for One: a new concert series featuring intimate performances from the world’s biggest artists, starting with British singer-songwriter RAYE (available later this year)
The first episode of aerial travel series Elevated, featuring a trip around the islands of Hawai’i, is being made available outside the U.S. today. And early next year, Apple will release another episode of Elevated taking viewers on a crisp autumn journey through Maine’s winding coastlines and beautiful rivers, as well as a new episode of Adventure that follows sport climber Kai Lightner as he free-solo climbs over the rocky coves of Majorca, Spain.
All of these immersive video releases sound exciting, and I look forward to experiencing them. With lack of content being a primary concern among Vision Pro owners, it’s good to see new releases scheduled at a regular pace to keep users engaged. Based on today’s announcements, we have lots of immersive content to look forward to in the coming months.
Today, Apple released the trailer for Submerged, a short film from director Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) that the company is touting as the first scripted film created using its Immersive Video format. Available free this Thursday exclusively on Apple Vision Pro, the 17-minute thriller follows a WWII submarine crew combating a harrowing torpedo attack.
With its 3D, 8K footage displayed in a 180-degree field of view combined with Spatial Audio, Apple Immersive Video is one of the highlights of the Vision Pro experience. Thus far, we’ve only seen it used in nonfictional contexts, including nature, travel, and sports. It will be intriguing to see how the format works for a fictional, scripted story.
I’m glad the company is continuing to release immersive content for Vision Pro owners to enjoy at what seems to be a monthly pace, and I hope to see more storytellers given the opportunity to show what’s possible with this new format soon. It’s early days, and the potential is certainly there for finding creative new ways to engage audiences. I’m excited to see what happens when Immersive Video takes the plunge into fiction.
In the lead-up to this year’s WWDC, it was hard to predict what an update to visionOS would look like. After all, the initial version had only shipped four months earlier when Apple Vision Pro became available for purchase in the United States. Given how late in the software cycle visionOS 1 shipped, it was reasonable to wonder if there would be a visionOS 2 announced at all, and if so, how much it could realistically add to an operating system that had just debuted the previous quarter.
Of course, Apple’s software cycle waits for no one, so like watchOS before it, visionOS is receiving a 2.0 version rapidly on the heels of its initial release. But the shortened development window doesn’t mean that this update isn’t a significant one. I believe that the 2.0 moniker is well deserved based on the features and enhancements included in this release, especially given the quieter updates across all of Apple’s platforms this year in the wake of Apple Intelligence.
visionOS 2 moves spatial computing forward with an array of welcome quality-of-life improvements, deeper integration with some of Apple’s other platforms, additional tools for developers to create spatial experiences, system app updates in line with Apple’s other platforms, and a new way to experience photos that you have to see to believe. The combination of user experience refinements and new features makes for a solid update that Vision Pro users are definitely going to notice and enjoy.
Some of the changes we’ll dive into feel so obvious that you might wonder why they weren’t included in visionOS to begin with. Having used Vision Pro almost daily since it was released, I fully understand the sentiment. But then I remember that the iPhone didn’t gain the ability to copy and paste text until iPhone OS 3, and I’m reminded that developing new platforms takes time – even for a company as big as Apple.
So while some might seem basic, many of the changes included in visionOS 2 improve users’ experiences in significant ways every time they interact with the platform. The end result is a smoother, more intuitive operating system that will delight Vision Pro believers and, if Apple has its way, convince more skeptics to take the plunge into spatial computing.
Beginning today, Apple says it will begin releasing a series of films, documentaries, music, sports, travel, and other video content for the Vision Pro.
First up is ‘Hot Air Balloons,’ which will be available beginning at 6 PM Pacific today, and is part of a series dubbed Boundless. That will be followed in August by a new installment of Wild Life, and a new travel series called Elevated in September. Later this year, Apple will release an immersive concert experience with The Weeknd, a scripted short film called Submerged by director Edward Berger, a behind-the-scenes and court-side look at the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend, and Big-Wave Surfing, part of a new sports series with Red Bull.
Apple Immersive Video is a groundbreaking leap forward for storytelling, offering Apple Vision Pro users remarkable experiences with an unparalleled sense of realism and immersion. From soaring over volcanoes in Hawaii and surfing huge waves in Tahiti, to enjoying performances by the world’s biggest artists and athletes from all-new perspectives, Apple Immersive Video revolutionizes the way people experience places, stories, sports, and more by making viewers feel like they’re truly there. It’s the next generation of visual storytelling, and we’re excited to bring it to more people around the world.
I’m really looking forward to these new immersive videos. There’s been a real dearth of content produced for the Vision Pro since its release, but with the device available in more countries, it’s great to see new content available for the growing audience.
Today, Apple revealed visionOS 2, the first major upgrade to the software powering Apple Vision Pro. The update, coming this fall, will include quality-of-life improvements, new ways to create and share spatial content, additional tools for developers, and more.
Interacting with the Home View and Control Center will be easier than before thanks to new system-wide gestures. Holding your hand up and tapping your fingers together will bring up the Home View, while flipping your hand over will bring up a time and battery status popover that also acts as a Control Center launcher. These gestures are simpler than the previous methods of accessing these views, which required pushing the Digital Crown for the Home View and looking upwards to reveal the Control Center launcher. Apps in the Home View can now be rearranged, and compatible iPad and iPhone apps are no longer constrained to a single folder.
The new gestures for accessing the Home View and Control Center in visionOS 2.Replay
Mac Virtual Display is expanding later this year to support a higher resolution and larger size, resulting in a display roughly equivalent to two 4K monitors side by side. The experience of using peripherals with Apple Vision Pro will be improved with Magic Keyboard passthrough in immersive environments and support for mice. Guest User information will be saved for 30 days so users’ friends and family can use Apple Vision Pro without going through the setup process repeatedly, and Travel Mode will be supported on trains in addition to airplanes.
During its WWDC 2024 keynote earlier today, Apple announced that the Vision Pro will be launching in more countries and regions later this month.
Specifically, the Vision Pro will become available for pre-order in China mainland, Hong Kong, Japan, and Singapore on June 13, with availability starting on Friday, June 28. On the same day, pre-orders will go live for customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, with availability starting on Friday, July 12.
“The enthusiasm for Apple Vision Pro has been extraordinary, and we are thrilled to introduce the magic of spatial computing to more customers around the world,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We can’t wait for more people to see the impossible become possible, whether working and collaborating with an infinite canvas for apps, reliving treasured memories in three dimensions, watching TV shows and movies in a one-of-a-kind personal cinema, or enjoying brand-new spatial experiences that defy imagination.”
In addition to announcing availability in more countries and regions, Apple also showcased visionOS 2, the next major update to the Vision Pro’s operating system. Highlights from visionOS 2 include new gestures to invoke the Home Screen and Control Center, train Travel Mode, mouse support, and more. We’ll cover all the changes in visionOS 2 in a more detailed overview later today.
Earlier this month, I linked to What If…? – An Immersive Story, which Marvel Studios and ILM Immersive developed for Disney+. The project is an Apple Vision Pro exclusive for which there were few details originally. Now, however, we have a trailer and a launch date. What If…? – An Immersive Story will be available to Disney+ subscribers in just over one week on May 30th:
The trailer’s description explains the project’s premise:
The Multiverse is in danger and The Watcher needs your help. Dangerous variants are hunting Infinity Stones and altering the fate of not only their realities, but yours as well. To save the fate of the Multiverse, you’ll need to use your own hands to learn mystic spells, defend your allies in epic battles, and more. But, be careful… everything might not be all that it seems.
Source: Disney+.
I can’t wait to try What If…? – An Immersive Story. There hasn’t been a lot of new immersive content since the Vision Pro’s launch. However, along with the appearance of Parkour in the TV app, which is set for release in a couple of days, the pace seems to be picking up.
Today, Marvel Studios and ILM Immersive announced What If…? – An Immersive Story for Disney+ subscriber on the Apple Vision Pro. What If…? is Marvel Studios’ animated series that considers what might occur if major events in the Marvel Cinematic Universe turned out differently. Drawing on the animated series, the creators say:
Fans will be invited to step inside the Multiverse like never before and have the chance to dive into an immersive, narrative-driven and innovative story in mixed reality.
What If…? the animated series as well as the comic book has always been about looking over the horizon into realities that have yet to be conceived. What If…? – An Immersive Story takes this one step further and actually allows you to visit these strange new worlds, not as a Watcher but as an actual participant. The creative work on this project is nothing less than stellar and we could not be more excited for fans to interact firsthand with some of their favorite Marvel heroes.
There’s not a lot of detail on the special hour-long project yet, but Marvel Studios and ILM Immersive promise more details soon. Still, it’s good to see Marvel Studios and ILM Immersive are working on this. The interactive content for the Vision Pro has been sparse since its launch, so hopefully, this is a sign that the market is big enough to support more interactive content, and the Vision Pro will be expanding to other countries soon.
I appreciate the advance notice, too. I’ve had the What If…? series in my queue for a while, and now I have another reason to check it out.
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