A new icon in the shape of a headset marks movies offering a 3D stereoscopic playback experience on Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro headset.
The new 3D icon appears alongside the usual icons that are used for the labeling of features like Dolby Vision HDR, 4K resolution, age rating, etc. More than 20 movies had this icon at the time of writing, including Jurassic World Dominion, Pacific Rim Uprising, Trolls, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Everest and more.
Unfortunately, 3D movies don’t show up in the iTunes Movies and TV apps on the Apple TV box as TV makers no longer support 3D technology.
Apple adding 3D movies playable on the Vision Pro headset
FlatpanelsHD first spotted the icon in Apple’s TV app on iOS 17.2, which is currently in testing and will launch publicly in a few weeks. The new 3D icon didn’t show up for me, indicating the changes haven’t yet propagated.
3D movies in the TV app:
- 47 Ronin
- Cirque Du Soleil: Worlds Away
- Everest
- Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters
- Jurassic World Dominion
- Kung Fu Panda 3
- Mortal Engines
- Pacific Rim Uprising
- Sanctum
- Shrek
- Skyscraper
- Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas
- The Boss Baby: Family Business
- The Little Princess
- The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature
- The Secret Life of Pets 2
- Trolls
- Trolls World Tour
- Warcraft
It’s interesting that Avatar: The Way of Water is not listed, even though Apple picked this flick to showcase 3D movie playback during the Vision Pro media event. The Apple TV+ streaming service will embrace 3D—the upcoming series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters will be the first show in Apple’s new immersive video format.
3D video on the Vision Pro
The mixed-reality headset provides a dedicated home cinema mode for watching 2D and 3D movies. Since the Vision Pro has two displays, it’s capable of producing an illusion of depth. We perceive depth with both of our eyes. 3D cameras have two lenses, one for the left eye and the other representing the right.
When viewing these images separately, they create an illusion of depth thanks to the stereoscopic capabilities of human eyes. Of course, the Vision Pro won’t magically turn any 2D movie into 3D. But films captured with 3D cameras will be watchable on Apple’s $3500 headset when it launches in early 2024. For now, 3D movies will be distributed through the iTunes store and the redesigned TV app.
No 3D movies for the Apple TV
Apple has not said whether third-party video apps like Disney+ may offer 3D films, too. Disney is one of Apple’s launch partners for the Vision Pro, so that’s a possibility.
The Vision Pro and the iPhone 15 Pros will allow you to record so-called spatial videos and photos in 3D, Â as well as view them on the headset.
Unfortunately, 3D movies probably won’t be playable on the Apple TV. All major makers of TV sets stopped supporting 3D movies several years ago, killing the promising format that they once were betting heavily on.