Immersive video for the Vision Pro: offer still small

The Vision Pro is still missing a killer application. However, it is known that many users use the technically advanced Apple headset to watch films. Impressive films are particularly impressive, which were specially recorded for the Vision Pro. They allow a real, high -resolution immersion in the content. The problem: there is still comparatively little material. And of all people Apple, which had long promoted the area, apparently makes you weak. The Bloomberg journalist Mark Gurman reported in his last newsletter. “Apple’s vision pro suffers from too little immersive video,” he writes in the heading.

No 30 immersive videos since the start of sales

According to Gurman’s count, such films-mostly only have a short format-have been available 27 times in the Vision Pro Library. Apple had created a separate technical format for which there is also its own management tool for producers. Apple’s own team had started various series as immersive videos, some of which have only one episode. This includes an animal series (“Wild Life”, four episodes), sports (“Adventure”, five episodes), dinosaurs (“Prehroic Planet”, two episodes) and a concert series from the studio (one episode).

There are also music performances individually by U2 singer Bono (a show about his life) and Metallica. Apple also advertises ancient sport like the NBA All-Star Game from 2024. Here, too, there are always only excerpts, never for hours of entertainment-probably also because the format is quite exhausting. There is also at least one immersive music video by artist The Weeknd.

The problem with 3D films

In addition to Apple’s immersive videos, the Vision Pro, which came onto the market in Europe in summer 2024 (price: from 4,000 euros), can also reproduce regular 3D films in full. These are sold via Apple’s TV app, and streaming services such as Disney+ offer access to smaller quantities. However, the problem is the resolution offered: for technical reasons, this is less than what you get in immersive videos.

The films therefore do not take advantage of the possibilities on the Vision Pro and sometimes appear pixelated, especially since some 3D effects are not very skillful. So far, Apple has no effort to help Hollywood on the jumps here – or to film even entire cinema production in its own immersive format. The group could quite, after all, he produces more (quite successful) film food. However, Gurman suspects that the Vision Pro at Apple is currently no longer a priority.