Apple Vision Pro will let Disney+ users watch ‘Moana’ from Tatooine
As the Apple Vision Pro headset prepares to launch, Disney and Apple have announced the device’s unique features for Disney+ and 3D movies.
Apple Vision Pro will launch Feb. 2, 2024. Promoted by Apple as a “spatial computer,” the headset device will combine the user experience of Apple products with augmented reality in the user’s surroundings.
The retail price for the Apple Vision Pro is $3,499. The device is now available for pre-order.
Apple Vision Pro users can perform a number of functions, but today we’ll focus on newly announced details about compatibility with Disney+ and home entertainment that Disney and Apple shared in a press release.
Disney+ Environments on Apple Vision Pro
As a user watches movies or shows with their Apple Vision Pro, they can manipulate the size of the viewing window themselves. When watching Disney+, the peripheral backdrop “behind” the viewing window can be customized to one of four Disney-inspired environments.
These include: the Disney+ Theater, inspired by the Disney-owned El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. …
… Tatooine from “Star Wars,” as seen at sunset from the cockpit of Luke Skywalker’s landspeeder …
… the Scare Floor from “Monsters, Inc.” …
… and Avengers Tower from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, looking upon New York City.
Disney+ subscribers will be able to access the streaming platform with their Apple Vision Pro as part of their Disney+ subscription. Viewers will not need to pay an additional fee to watch Disney+ on the new device.
Additionally, Disney+ on the Apple Vision Pro will include every movie and show that’s available when using Disney+ on any other device. For example, there won’t be separate lists that are only available on iPhone or only viewable on the Apple Vision Pro; their line-ups will be the same.
For select Disney Bundle subscribers, Disney recently integrated Hulu’s library of movies and shows into Disney+ and this feature will continue for those subscribers when accessing Disney+ on the Apple Vision Pro.
Disney+ in 3D on the Apple Vision Pro
With the spatial capabilities of the Apple Vision Pro, the device can present select movies and shows in 3D. Dozens of 3D titles will be viewable on Disney+ with the Apple Vision Pro at launch.
In a press release, Disney mentioned the following selections: “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Encanto,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” and “Elemental.” A Disney-provided interface screengrab (below) also shows “Moana,” “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in the 3D menu.
Incidentally (or perhaps not so much so), these titles reflect at least one selection each from Disney’s major tentpole subsidiaries: Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, 20th Century Studios, and Pixar Animation Studios.
In some cases, Disney+ will be the only place to watch these films in 3D. In other words, Disney will add certain movies in 3D to Disney+ that the studio does not offer in 3D via a digital rental or purchase platform, like the Store tab in the Apple TV app.
That being said, the Store tab will still offer a plentiful selection of 3D titles (over 150 of them) to rent or buy, Disney or otherwise, on the Apple Vision Pro. Additionally, if you already own a movie digitally and that movie has 3D capability in the Apple TV app, you can watch the movie in 3D on your Apple Vision Pro without paying another dime. It will be there waiting for you at no additional cost.
Vision Pro Combines “Exceptional Creativity with Groundbreaking Technology”
Disney CEO Bob Iger shared his outlook on Disney’s participation in the launch of the Apple Vision Pro in a statement:
At Disney, we’re constantly searching for new ways to entertain, inform, and inspire by combining exceptional creativity with groundbreaking technology to create truly remarkable experiences. Apple Vision Pro is a revolutionary platform that will bring our fans closer to the characters and stories they love while immersing them more deeply in all that Disney has to offer. We’re proud to once again be partnering with Apple to bring extraordinary new Disney experiences to people around the world.
Last year, Iger joined Apple CEO Tim Cook during the initial announcement of the Apple Vision Pro to tease big-picture possibilities of how users might experience Disney on the device.
Iger was friends with the late Steve Jobs, co-founder and longtime CEO of both Apple and Pixar. In his book 2019 “The Ride of a Lifetime,” Iger wrote about his professional and personal relationship with Jobs, including their dynamic during Disney’s 2006 acquisition of Pixar and Jobs’ biting criticism of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort.
In the spirit of documenting new Apple products, check out our video from way back in 2010, when the iPad was brand-new and users could download the app version of our publication (at the time called Orlando Attractions Magazine).
