Disney and Apple break new ground with Disney+ on Apple Vision Pro including virtual environments and 3D content

Jan 16, 2024 in "The Walt Disney Company"

Forum Forums Tweet Share Tweet Share

Gallery / 7 Photos
Disney and Apple Vision Pro

See all 7

Posted: Tuesday January 16, 2024 9:21am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney+ will launch February 2, 2024 on Apple Vision Pro, Apple's new spatial computer, offering Disney+ subscribers with a Vision Pro device a new way to stream entertainment at no additional cost.

"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," said Bob Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company. "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."

Disney and Apple Vision Pro

At launch, viewers can transform their space into one of four Disney+ environments, bringing them even closer to the story. Each environment includes animations and sounds that make the space feel alive, including Easter eggs from films and franchises.

Available only on Apple Vision Pro, Disney+ subscribers will be able to stream the entire catalog – including thousands of TV shows and films, plus access to Hulu content for eligible Disney Bundle subscribers – including: the Disney+ Theater, inspired by the historic El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood; the Scare Floor from Pixar's Monsters Inc.; Marvel's Avengers Tower overlooking downtown Manhattan; and the cockpit of Luke Skywalker's landspeeder, facing a binary sunset on the planet Tatooine from the Star Wars galaxy.

Viewers will be able to watch dozens of popular movies in 3D, like Avatar: The Way of Water, Avengers: Endgame, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Elemental, and Encanto. More titles, including those available exclusively to Disney+ subscribers, will be announced at a later date. Apple Vision Pro users can also rent or purchase most 3D movies through the Store tab in the Apple TV app. Users who previously purchased Disney movies that include 3D versions from the Apple TV app will be able to access those 3D versions on Apple Vision Pro at no additional cost.

Disney+ on Apple Vision Pro is the result of collaboration between multiple technology teams at the Company, including Disney Studio Technology, Disney Entertainment & ESPN Technology, ILM Immersive, and Skywalker Sound.

Disney and Apple Vision Pro

Disney+ environments were developed using the Universal Scene Description (USD) format. Originally developed by Pixar and open sourced in 2016, USD allows developers to work simultaneously and collaboratively across creation tools and development pipelines to compose complex 3D experiences, at scale, across many applications, and in real time. The Alliance for OpenUSD – a group formed by Pixar and Apple, among others – is working to standardize the USD format across the industry.

Using Dolby Vision and Multiview High Efficiency Video Coding(MV-HEVC), 3D movies on Disney+ will deliver UHD resolution in HDR, unfiltered and independent for each eye, and at a high frame rate for several titles.

Discuss on the Forums

Get Walt Disney World News Delivered to Your Inbox

Brian2 days ago

It's already in development. Whether or not it ever sees the light of day is less certain.

Trauma2 days ago

Who knows who will get whatever this ends up being to mass market. Could be a company that doesn’t even exist yet. Could be Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta. We will see if Apple even makes a second version of the Vision Pro.

wdwmagic2 days ago

I'm referring to Apple, because they are the most capable of achieving this to be mass market, and the Vision Pro is their first device in this category.

UNCgolf2 days ago

I mentioned it above, but this is the ongoing problem for VR/AR (one that AR is more likely to solve eventually than VR, IMO). It just doesn't offer a better experience (and often offers a worse one) for regular, every day tasks than a laptop or desktop computer (or smart phone/tablet in some cases).

Trauma2 days ago

Nothing started with Vision Pro. Many Vr headsets before it.

durangojim2 days ago

I bought a Vision Pro about 2 weeks after launch to try to incorporate it into my workflow when I see patients at home. It's a neat product but there are some major thing limiting its use in my option. It's big and heavy, the MacBook screen mirroring is limited to one screen and frankly having a bunch of windows floating around isn't really more efficient than just having a screen infront of you with windows. It is however superb on an airplane for watching movies. As someone next to me said while I was traveling, you look like a dork, but I guess that doesn't matter if you're watching movie on a 10 foot screen 30,000 feet above the ground. Right now this iteration is not worth it in my opinion for 99% of average users and I hardly use it anymore. I hope WWDC brings some much needed upgrades and apps to the software.

wdwmagic2 days ago

The Apple 1 sold about 200 units, and today Apple sells $40 billion in MACs per year. Today's MAC is a different form factor, but it all has to start somewhere - just like Vision Pro.

Fido Chuckwagon2 days ago

It's also likely really bad for young people whose eyes are still developing, which is also a significant drawback.

Trauma2 days ago

How about smellovision in 3D!!

Eric Graham2 days ago

I've heard that 25% of people that use the headset experience motion sickness. That's quite a bit.

Fido Chuckwagon2 days ago

Some things catch on, some things don't. Smellovision never caught on. 3d tv's never caught on. I think this is a lot more like smellovision and 3d tv's than it is like a phone or tablet. Only time will tell though. Also important to note that virtual reality isn't some "new" concept. We've been playing around with this since the 90's. Yes the tech has gotten much better, but VR could have taken off any time in the past 30 years and hasn't yet.

GhostHost10002 days ago

you would be wrong A computer in a home is also different than wearing something on your head and covering your eyes.

Trauma2 days ago

The sales numbers tell you all you need to know. People do not care. Yes one day tech like this will be mainstream, but it will be in a completely different form factor. The Vision Pro is a dud and it’s back to the drawing board. All you are basically saying is tech will continue to evolve. I’d also bet the sun will rise tomorrow.