On June 5, at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced Disney’s partnership with Apple for Apple’s new product the Apple Vision Pro.
Iger told the audience how Disney is always searching for ways to create truly remarkable experiences and that Apple Vision Pro could make some of Disney’s creative visions a reality.
Apple Vision Pro is Apple’s new mixed-reality headset. The mixed-reality headset will allow you to play games and watch TV and movies among other capabilities. Disney+ and ESPN+ will be coming to Apple Vision Pro on day one. From the looks of the demo, it looks like Disney is finally embracing its metaverse promise through a partnership with Apple.
Disney+ will be available on Apple Vision Pro. 🥽
Are you excited for this? #WWDC23
— Boardwalk Times (@BoardwalkTimes) June 5, 2023
Obviously the above is just a sizzle reel. But if the Apple Vision Pro lives up to its promise, then expect these things from Disney.
I’d expect ILM Immersive, Lucasfilm’s virtual and mixed-reality storytelling studio, to be heavily involved with Disney’s plans for the Apple Vision Pro especially when it comes to creating immersive gaming experiences. ILM Immersive, formerly known as ILMxLAB, did a lot of work for The Void, a virtual reality experience company. I wouldn’t be shocked if Apple is courting Disney to make immersive gaming experiences for Vision Pro from the worlds of Star Wars and Marvel.
Despite the Apple Vision Pro being a big announcement for Apple and Disney. I couldn’t help but think that everything that is happening with the Apple Vision Pro was a part of former Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s metaverse/next-gen storytelling plans.
For example, back at D23 Expo, Chapek was dropping massive hints that Disney+ was no longer going to be just a “streaming platform” but a next-generation storytelling platform that would blend physical and digital worlds.
Sounds like what Disney just announced with Apple Vision Pro is just that.
Chapek went on to describe the idea even more:
“Where one can personalize and customize their experience; a future where sports viewing isn’t just a passive experience, but a chance to be part of the action; and a future where theme parks break through the physical and technological boundaries of today, to create experiences that defy expectation and explanation.”
Chapek’s next-gen storytelling plan was to take Disney+ and make it a platform that could be used in the physical world. He even cited a virtual Haunted Mansion as something Disney could do. I’d expect a Haunted Mansion experience to eventually happen on Apple Vision Pro.
“In order to reach the 90% of people that will never ever be able to get to a Disney park, we have before us an opportunity to turn what was a movie-service platform to an experiential platform and give them the ability to ride Haunted Mansion from a virtual standpoint. The utility isn’t just to have the same experience. Maybe we’ll give them the opportunity what every single person in the park wants to do, and unfortunately too many of them do it, just to get off the attraction.”
Apple was smart to have Disney be the first media company to showcase the power of Apple Vision Pro. Just take former Disney CEO Bob Chapek’s word for it.
“If the Metaverse is about blending the digital and physical worlds then who can do it better than Disney?” — Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek
Obviously, Apple nor Disney is using the word metaverse, but at the end of the day, we all know what this is. You can call it next-gen storytelling. You can call it spatial computing. You can call it mixed-reality. The similarities remain the same.
Disney has the opportunity to push into this new storytelling frontier with full force. It also helps that Apple (a true tech giant) will be handling all the technical aspects. Disney has the chance to potentially use Apple Vision Pro in its parks down the line. For example, Avengers Campus seems like a prime candidate to get some mixed-reality experiences. Imagine Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge with more energy? It could happen. Everything from the parks to Disney+ could end up working in unison for Apple Vision Pro.
I still think it will take time for a lot of this tech to develop, and obviously, the first batch of users for the Apple Vision Pro will be a small amount due to price. How will Disney+ and some of these experiences work on day one? That’s going to be interesting to see.
I’m still quite curious how Disney may monetize some of these experiences for Apple Vision Pro. I guess we will know more as time goes on. This is another chapter in the Apple/Disney story. One that involves Pixar, iTunes, and now Apple Vision Pro. Could this partnership continue to blossom into something more? That’s another story for another time.
Apple Vision Pro will cost $3,499. It will be available early next year.
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Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
