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Since Apple released this innovation Vision Pro headset, $3,500 2 years agoI’ve been waiting to see what apps and experiences might help me get the most out of it. One of them is live sports.
Using headphones, I recently watched parts of a Lakers-Bucks game, and part of an Apple game The first wave of immersive live NBA games Which debuted via Spectrum on January 9th. After this year CES in Vegaswhich was full of attempts at futuristic visions, Apple and Spectrum’s presentation at the NBA was expected — but not immersive enough.
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In a recent column by Ben Thompson StrachryThe Vision Pro immersive sports experience is not flexible, but falls somewhere between broadcast TV and “being there,” he said. He’s not wrong. In fact, what amazes me is how all of this reminds me of experiences I had many years ago.
Once upon a time, a decade ago, I watched a movie A boxing match in the Gear VR headsetWhich made me feel like I was on the edge of the ring. Me too I watched a presidential debate. In these moments, on Oculus headsets, I felt trapped between the promise of immersion and the desire for interaction.
Those feelings of relating to something are back here on the field, and have been applied to live sports. Although camera and video quality are great with the Vision Pro, it’s not much different from the Vision Pro Other immersive video offerings from Apple Currently available.
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Immersive recording and streaming from Spectrum Selected Lakers games It involves placing cameras in the middle seat in the front row, side of the court and at each of the two baskets, alternating between them. Most of the watching takes place on the field, and as with all Apple Immersive videos, it’s a 180-degree experience. The video appears outside and rotates around, as if it were at The Sphere in Vegas (which I just experienced), but in 3D and at home.
The live viewing experience is available with a Spectrum SportsNet subscription if you live in Southern California, Nevada or Hawaii, or with next-day viewing elsewhere using your NBA app login.
You also need the $3,500 Vision Pro, of course.
I can’t show a screenshot of the game here, so I’ll remind you that you need to be wearing Vision Pro to try it out.
Illusion sure can be fun. But then I wondered how I could browse stats, text friends, share stuff, or take photos on my phone while watching, just like I would in a real game. Or how I can stay super connected, like I do on broadcast TV at home. The Vision Pro NBA app actually has a deep, multi-screen, stat-studded viewing mode with a 3D court map displayed on the tabletop to satisfy that desire.
As a sports fan, I want it all. I want a Jets game where I can be there and on top of it, see all the stats and heat maps, and share stuff with friends. I want any way to interact and “be there” while still benefiting from the flexible control of home viewing. I want to get instant highlights and beat reporters’ comments on my phone. I exercise across multiple screens.
While wearing the Vision Pro headset, I could actually use my phone. When setting up to unlock with the Vision Pro, my phone’s screen streams through immersive video, allowing me to type on it through the passing camera. But this is not the same as remaining in an illusion. Breaks the fourth wall a little.
And sure enough, the immersive broadcast has key stats for reading scores when I look down, and I can see them on the stadium screens above me. But why wouldn’t I have a way to tilt my wrist and see all the stats popping up there, in real life, while streaming?
The inability to change viewpoints is also frustrating. The broadcast is treated as a single network-broken feed, so you’re the one being transmitted. At least he doesn’t jump around too much.
This represents Apple’s early forays into immersive sports streaming, so I can be a little more forgiving. At the same time, we’re also two years into the Vision Pro’s lifecycle, and this device is nowhere near as affordable or more “professional” for most people’s needs.
If Apple innovates a less expensive way to wear vision-quality displays and also improves how we sense and react to these events, I’ll be singing a different tune. For now, it’s just another demonstration of high-quality immersive cameras and displays.
I want more evidence of how these moments of near-telepresence can rise beyond mere snapshots, into something far more amplified than what I actually experienced. It’s fun, but it’s not the ideal way to watch games that I care deeply about yet.