Michael Cioni

Founder of postproduction company Light Iron, Academy member and tech entrepreneur

Focusing their approach on comfortability and practical interaction, if Apple is successful in bringing XR to the masses with Vision Pro, it’s possible it could unlock the next form of television — creating competition to the large-screen, 4K HDR television experience. But what are the opportunities for creatives? Today, most project deliverables are rectangular iterations of each other mapped to different versions of color. But could spacial computing perhaps be the ultimate deliverable of our stories? I think it’s a bit early to say we’ll all be wearing $3,500 ski goggles all day, but then again, most of us didn’t think we’d all be wearing fashionable $250 headphones most of the day, either. Apple said they want Vision Pro to create “deeply personal experiences.” This means filmmakers have a new medium in which to enhance their stories. I think that’s an invitation for Hollywood to become an active participant in this technology. In stark contrast with MSG’s Sphere approach to content [the immersive dome under construction in Las Vegas could accommodate as many as 20,000 people], Apple and MSG share completely different philosophies on how people will consume content in an immersive way. We experienced numerous digital enhancements over the past 20 years: film to digital, 2K to 4K, SDR to HDR, stereo to Atmos, broadcast to streaming. And with Apple Vision Pro, ultra-high quality meets fully immersive. Apple said this won’t be available until early 2024 — which suggests to me they will spend the next nine months building a marketplace full of immersive content. Once that marketplace matures and the technology and cost of ski goggles eventually form into stylish glasses, adoption will hit fever pitch. If anyone’s ever felt concerned that all things digital will reduce our connection to the physical world, perhaps XR will help us be more physically present while in a digital experience.