Metallica is coming to Vision Pro. The legendary thrash metal band known for their distinctive melodies and razor-sharp lyrics are now contained within Apple‘s $3,499 mixed-reality headset.
Vision Pro‘s latest immersive music experience is Metallica performing hits for a crowd of 65,000 fans in Mexico City. Apple filmed the band last year using 14 “Apple Immersive Video Cameras,” which may be referring to the new Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive, a nearly $30,000 dual-lens 8K camera system built specifically to capture Vision Pro content, but also might not. We asked Apple for more details but it would only reiterate that the cameras were “proprietary” and set up in multiple configurations.
In a release on the experience, Apple says the immersive 180-degree video will put you onstage, giving you “unprecedented access” to band members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Robert Trujillo.
The cameras were also set up backstage and inside the legendary “Snake Pit,” a mosh-pit space for super fans in the middle of the concert stage.
Positioning all those 180-degree cameras on and around the stage (some were on pulleys over the stage, some were on remote-controlled dolleys) puts you in the action as Metallica reminds you to “sleep with one eye open” in Sandman and encourages you to “Bang your head against the stage like you never did before” in Whiplash.
They also play the hit One, but the Vision Pro footage does not give you access to the full nearly two-hour concert.
For Metallica and Vision Pro fans, the new immersive video is good news. Still, if you happen to be a Metallica fan without a pricey headset, you can, starting March 14, book a Vision Pro demo at your local Apple Store, where you’ll get to watch Metallica perform Whiplash.
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Apple has been steadily building up its immersive content library with short films like the harrowing Submerged and animations/games like Marvel‘s What If…? An Immersive Story.
These are compelling showcases of Vision Pro’s formidable capabilities. Watching a standard movie about a sinking submarine differs from watching an immersive 3D experience where it feels like you’re going under with the sub.
It’s also quite memorable to stand almost nose-to-nose with a tightrope walker traversing an expanse between two towering rock edifices or go ice diving with some intrepid Arctic explorers.
Each of these experiences is unforgettable in its own way, but one gets the sense that Apple is still struggling to connect with consumers on these devices.
$3,500 is a significant investment for a headset that will mostly cut you off from those around you, not counting the creepy EyeSight when you wear it.
Apple is clearly deeply invested in the Vision Pro content ecosystem. Still, no amount of compelling content or even Apple Intelligence integration will turn Vision Pro into a must-buy for cash-strapped consumers. Apple probably needs to lower the price and hurry up with the lower-cost Vision Pro alternative.
Nearly two years after Apple first unveiled the Vision Pro headset, it’s clear that if Apple doesn’t do something, the bell may soon toll for its immersive headset.
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lance.ulanoff@futurenet.com (Lance Ulanoff)
