Disney is teaming up with Apple to bring its Disney+ streaming service to the tech giant’s new Vision Pro mixed-reality headset.
The headset was announced on Monday (5 June) by Apple CEO Tim Cook during a keynote address at the company’s Worldwide Developers Conference.
Launching in early 2024, the headset will cost from $3,499 and will allow users to watch Disney+ content in immersive virtual environments.
Disney CEO Bob Iger – who appeared onstage during the keynote – said the technology will enhance Disney+ viewing experiences. He called the Vision Pro “real-life magic” and said Disney+ will be available on the product when it launches.
The company is “constantly in search of new ways to entertain, inform and inspire our fans by combining extraordinary creativity was groundbreaking technology to create truly remarkable experiences”, Iger said. “And we believe Apple Vision Pro is a revolutionary platform that can make our vision a reality.”
He added: “It will allow us to create deeply personal experiences that bring our fans closer to the characters they love. This platform will allow us to bring Disney to our fans in ways that were previously impossible.”
Watch Disney+ content in new ways
“We’re so proud to yet again be partnering the greatest storytelling company in the world with the most innovative technology company in the world to bring you real life magic,” Iger said.
The Apple Vision Pro is “a new kind of computer that augments reality by seamlessly blending the real world with the digital world“, Cook said.
Users will be able to decide how much of the world around them they want to see, or opt to be completely immersed in a virtual location.
But how could Disney’s partnership with Apple incorporate its theme parks? In a trailer for Disney’s content on Vision Pro, which can be seen in the video above at around 1 hour and 40 minutes in, the company asks: “What if you could bring Disney World into your world?”
Disney has already teased plans to turn Disney+ into an “experiential lifestyle platform” that would let users experience the company’s parks “from a virtual standpoint”.
Disney’s former CEO Bob Chapek told Deadline the streaming service would “not just be a movie service platform”. Instead, it would serve as a metaverse-style platform for “the 90 percent of people that will never ever be able to get to a Disney park”.
Apple’s new headset and Disney parks
In an interview at the Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live event, Chapek later said the company is developing a way to personalise visitors’ theme park experiences using their Disney+ viewing habits, and vice versa.
Earlier this year, Disney reportedly eliminated its metaverse division just over a year after announcing it.
Lead image credit: Apple
