Apple Vision Pro recently got a big visionOS 26 software update, and its first hardware revision is coming soon. But what may prove more critical to Vision Pro’s long-term success is another recent development: live sports are coming soon in Apple Immersive Video.
Immersive Video is one of Vision Pro’s strengths, but with untapped potential
Among Vision Pro early adopters, one of the most widely praised features is Apple’s new ‘Immersive Video’ format.
Immersive Video provides a 180-degree “immersive” entertainment experience.
Rather than watching TV shows or movies in a large floating window in front of you, Immersive Video makes it feel like you’re right there inside the content.
The biggest problem with these videos isn’t their quality, but rather limited quantity. In the 20 months Vision Pro has been on the market, the demand for more Immersive Videos has easily outpaced what Apple has been able to produce.
Thanks to new hardware and software tools finally arriving in third-party hands, that should hopefully change soon. For example, Apple recently announced the next seven immersive titles coming, most of which are from third parties.
But a separate announcement easily feels like the most significant development yet: live sports will soon be made available in Apple Immersive Video.
Live sports are coming in Apple Immersive Video very soon
Until now, Immersive Video’s sports offerings have been extremely minimal, limited to a handful of highlight clips produced months after games have ended.
But live sports are finally almost here.
Apple has partnered with Spectrum to make select Los Angeles Lakers games from the coming NBA season available on Vision Pro in Immersive Video.
Here are the details, per Apple:
Basketball fans will soon be able to experience NBA games like never before in Apple Immersive on Apple Vision Pro, with a selection of live Los Angeles Lakers matchups during the 2025-26 season, courtesy of Spectrum SportsNet. Viewers will feel the intensity of each game as if they were courtside, with perspectives impossible to capture in traditional broadcasts. The schedule of games will be revealed later this fall, with the first game streaming by early next year, available through the forthcoming Spectrum SportsNet app for Vision Pro.
If you have ever watched an Immersive Video, you know how big a deal this could be for the Vision Pro.
Live sports are very important to a whole lot of people. And getting to watch live sports in a way that feels like you’re right there, in the game, could be extremely compelling.
So compelling, in fact, that it might be exactly the killer feature Vision Pro needs.
If these LA Lakers live streams can replicate the feeling of being courtside at the game, I suspect there are plenty of people who would buy a Vision Pro for that alone.
The bigger game-changer, of course, will come when live sports expand more broadly.
When baseball, basketball, football games, and more are made available live in Apple Immersive Video, I’d bet that tons of sports fans will find that hard to resist.
Live sports may not make Vision Pro into the “spatial computer” Apple pitches it as. But it could absolutely make the product into a must-have entertainment device for many.
How impactful do you think immersive live sports might be for Vision Pro’s success? Let us know in the comments.
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