Disney Plus: The arrival of Apple Vision Pro headset

Earlier this week, Apple caused quite a stir by announcing that they were getting into the mixed-reality headset market with their upcoming Apple Vision Pro headset. Set to launch sometime next year, this headset has already piqued the interest of Disney+.

While the presentation showed off a lot of features that are being promised with the new device, an interesting part of the presentation featured Disney CEO Bob Iger coming to the stage to talk about how Disney would be taking advantage of Apple’s new device.

When will Disney+ be available on Apple Vision Pro?

For starters, Iger revealed that Disney+ would be available for the Apple Vision Pro on the first day of its launch, so early adopters will be able to try out the service’s new features right away. While we didn’t get to see a lot, Iger was on stage for less than five minutes of the two hour presentation, we did get to see what watching a Disney+ show on the headset could look like.

Using The Mandalorian as an example, Iger showed off watching an episode of the Star Wars show, while having additional screens floating nearby ready to add details about the ship that was currently being seen on the screen, and the planet that the action was currently taking place on. As Disney continues to create these lore dense franchises, these reference points could be a helpful way to keep more casual fans from getting confused.

The presentation also showed off an option where everything beyond the screen became the surface of a foreign planet to show off a more immersive experience, that viewers could have while watching the show.

What questions do we still have?

Of course, there is still a lot that we don’t know. For starters, we don’t actually know when, “day one” is.

While it was announced that the Apple Vision Pro would be available sometime early next year, we don’t actually have a date of when it will be released. Also, we don’t yet know if Disney will be releasing anything that will either be exclusive to the platform, or specifically designed for it.

Iger did talk about the storytelling possibilities of the mixed reality device, but he didn’t go so far as to announce any new projects that were specifically designed with the Apple Vision Pro in mind. There were a few highlights in the video package that included Mickey Mouse coming to life in the real world, and a user building a miniature version of Disneyland on their kitchen counter.

But we don’t know if these features were Disney+ specific, or if they were other Disney features for the device that would exist outside of Disney+. We will probably learn more in the upcoming months, as Apple reveals more about the device in the buildup to its release at some point in 2024.

While some critics of the upcoming Apple Vision Pro have argued that it’s nothing new, citing plenty of other VR headsets that already exist on the market, it’s worth pointing out that smartphones existed before the iPhone and tablet computers existed before the iPad. Yet in both cases, Apple products helped shape the trends and the future of both of those markets.

It’s easy to see why Disney thinks that this is the headset that’s worth associating their brand with for the future of Disney+.

How do you feel about the Apple Vision Pro? Let us know in the comments below!