Apple is setting its sights on changing how people experience sports and gaming.
On Monday, the tech giant unveiled its long-awaited mixed-reality headset, Apple Vision Pro, which will be available next year and retail for $3,499.
The device promises numerous features, including multiview broadcasts, immersive replays, and gaming displays. The company has been developing a multiview feature for Apple TV+ that allows users to watch multiple streams at once.
Apple will offer a growing library of sports content for the headset. It holds exclusive streaming rights to Major League Soccer and select Major League Baseball games — and more could be on the way with possible bids for Premier League and Pac-12 rights.
The company has also emerged as a contender for NBA broadcasts, the bidding for which could reach $75 billion over nine years between linear and streaming rights.
Apple is expected to feature sports-watching and fitness on the headset, according to Bloomberg. Its Fitness+ subscription is heavily integrated into the Apple Watch, which collects heart rate and other biometric data from its wearers.
The device will have a dial that allows users to switch between virtual reality, in which one is fully immersed in the Vision Pro’s displays, and augmented reality, which allows one to see displays overlaid on the world around them.
