iStockphoto / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Man wearing Apple Vision Pro next to baseball field
Apple is about to turn the New York Yankees–Boston Red Sox into the kind of baseball broadcast that sounds like somebody let a Silicon Valley product manager design the best seat in Yankee Stadium. The rivals will play Aug. 28 in MLB’s first live Apple Immersive broadcast, where Vision Pro users can watch the game in 3D, 8K and a 180-degree field of view.
The Apple experiment is not simply putting a gigantic television inside a headset. Cameras will capture dugout celebrations, close plays at the wall and other angles designed to make viewers feel like they are sitting inside the action, except without paying $19 for a beer or having a guy in a Judge jersey stand directly in front of them.
Apple Is Basically Putting Yankee Stadium On Your Face
Apple says the broadcast will feature dedicated commentary from Paul Severino, Xavier Scruggs and Michelle Margaux, along with replays and graphics that float inside the viewer’s space.
Lineups and statistics will appear around the user instead of being trapped inside the usual scorebug. During commercial breaks and other pauses, the feed will remain live while ambisonic microphones capture the stadium in Spatial Audio.
So if a Yankees fan three sections away begins explaining why a 2-1 pitch permanently changed his life, there is at least a chance Vision Pro can recreate the full Bronx experience.
The game starts at 7 p.m. ET on Aug. 28 and will be available live through the Apple TV app on Vision Pro for subscribers in nine countries, including the United States. Full-game replays and highlight packages will also be available afterward.
The format itself uses Apple Immersive, which records 3D video in 8K with a 180-degree field of view. Apple has already used the technology for concerts, travel films and sports content, including an immersive Yankee Stadium film.
This time, however, the entire baseball game is happening live.
That distinction matters because MLB already offers Vision Pro users immersive ballpark environments and 3D data visualizations. Those experiences can recreate plays with digital player models. Apple is now trying to put the actual live camera feed around the viewer instead.
That is the part that matters.
Watching Baseball At Home Is Getting Increasingly Absurd
For decades, the home-viewing upgrade path was straightforward.
Buy a bigger television. Get HD. Eventually convince yourself a 75-inch screen is completely reasonable because the couch is technically pretty far away.
Now Apple is asking whether you would prefer the stadium wrapped around your head.
There is obviously one fairly significant barrier to entry. The current Apple Vision Pro starts at $3,499, so this is not exactly replacing the neighborhood sports bar anytime soon. You could buy a lot of Yankees-Red Sox tickets, hot dogs and regrettable stadium beers before reaching headset money.
But the broadcast offers a look at where expensive at-home sports could be headed.
Apple is already planning additional immersive Friday night games through Sept. 18, including Angels-Pirates, Padres-Giants and Giants-Dodgers. If the technology works, the pitch becomes obvious: stop watching sports through a rectangle and start feeling like you are standing next to the field.
Traditional broadcasts are not disappearing. Most people will continue watching baseball without attaching a $3,499 computer to their face.
But on Aug. 28, Yankees-Red Sox is becoming a very expensive science experiment.
For Vision Pro owners, the best seat in Yankee Stadium might technically be on the couch.