Apple will host its next WWDC conference in June. The annual showcase of new Apple products and ideas probably won’t mean much to the average sports fan, yet it is notable that the 2025 WWDC event will mark two years since Apple unveiled the Vision Pro. The augmented reality headset wowed audiences back at WWDC 2023, eventually going on sale in 2024. Unfortunately, despite its impressive technology, the device has been considered a flop.
There are numerous reasons why the Vision Pro has not taken off, not least its expensive price tag ($3,499 and above); however, many experts believe that one of the key problems is that Apple failed to define the device’s purpose. Is it supposed to be used for work? Socializing? Entertainment? Apple argues that it is for all those things, but the failure to zero in on specific demographics has meant the device’s sales have been really disappointing.
A Glimpse of the Future With Sports On Vision Pro
Apple has not given up yet – far from it. And there is reason to believe that sports may be the key to unlocking the Vision Pro’s potential. We know this because we are already seeing glimpses of it, especially with Major League Baseball. Both the MLB App and MLB.TV (the subscription service) have compatibility with Vision Pro, allowing fans to watch games like never before.
It’s clear that Apple sees a lot of potential in this. It has been releasing promotional material hyping the MLB season, showing how users can get immersed in the game, see the action from multiple viewpoints, get live data and statistics constantly updated, and experience everything in 3D. The demo videos look superb, and user feedback has been almost unanimous in saying that it augments the experience of watching baseball.
Beyond actually watching the game, you can certainly see use cases that go beyond that. A live statistics feed could be highly useful for live betting on sports, for instance, and those wishing to learn how to play baseball can pick up plenty of insights on everything from player positions to how they approach a pitch. These things simply aren’t picked up by traditional television cameras.
Some Sports May Fit Better Than Others
For balance, though, we might argue that baseball is a good fit for the Vision Pro, whereas other sports might not be. For example, the pace of a basketball or soccer game might not fully suit the Vision Pro’s data feeds, although there would still be a benefit to experiencing those sports in more immersive ways.
We might cite sports like cricket and golf, the latter of which has Vision Pro compatibility with the PGA Tour app, as sports that are highly suitable for this style of engagement.
The question, of course, is whether the prospect of watching sports with augmented reality would be enough to convince you to pay a huge sum to buy a Vision Pro. The answer really depends. Yet, it’s worth noting that the Vision Pro is in its earliest iteration. Think back to how iPhones were when they first arrived in 2007, and then consider how much more advanced the smartphone in your pocket is today. Perhaps the Vision Pro will go on a similar evolution. Yet, from what we have seen so far, Apple has given us an interesting taste of what the future of watching sports might be like.
