Jan 15, 2026
3 min read
Comment: Live sports are coming to Apple's $3,499 augmented reality headset.After looking at the virtual reality listing for the first time, I had mixed feelings.
Ever since Apple released the $3,499 Vision Pro headset two years ago, I've been waiting to see the apps and experiences that could help me get the most out of it.One of them is live sports broadcasts.
Using my headphones, I just watched parts of a basketball game, LA Lakers vs. Milwaukee Bucks last Friday, part of Apple's first wave of immersive NBA games that started on Spectrum on January 9. After this year's CES show in Las Vegas, which was full of futuristic ideas, enough was expected from Apple and Spectrum, but not from the NBA.
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Ben Thompson argued in a recent column on Stretcher that the Vision Pro immersive sports experience doesn't fit, but falls somewhere between broadcast TV and "being".He is not wrong.In fact, what strikes me is how it reminds me of experiences I had many years ago.
Once, ten years ago, I watched a boxing match on a Gear VR headset, which made me feel like I was standing on the edge of the ring.I even watched a presidential debate.At these moments in my Oculus headsets, I'm torn between the promise of immersion and the desire for interaction.
The feeling of something falling short came back here on the side of the court in relation to the sport itself.Although the quality of the camera and video is impressive with Vision Pro, it is no different from other impressive video offerings from Apple that are available at the moment.
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Spectrum's immersive recording and streaming of individual Lakers games involves placing cameras in the center front row and in individual baskets on a rotating basis.Most views are of the courtyard, and like all Apple Immersive videos, it's a 180-degree experience.The video domes inside and out are like being in The Sphere in Vegas (which I just tried), but in 3D and at home.
If you live in Southern California, Nevada or Hawaii, or if you're using the NBA app login next day, the live viewing experience is available with a Spectrum SportsNet subscription.
You'll also need the $3,499 Vision Pro.
Illusion can certainly be fun.But I wondered how I could browse stats, text friends, share things, or take photos like I would in an actual game.Or how I can be more connected, like in a TV broadcast at home.In fact, the Vision Pro NBA app features an in-depth, multi-screen, state-studded mode and court map view on top of a 3D table.
As a sports fan, I want it all.I want a Jets game where I can both attend and be on the game, see all the stats and heatmaps, and share it with friends.I wanted every way to interact and "be there" but still enjoy the flexibility of having control over viewing the home.I want instant highlights and reporter commentary on my phone.I experience sports on multiple screens.
While wearing the Vision Pro headset I can actually use my phone.When installed to open using the Vision Pro, my phone screen flows through the video allowing me to shoot it from the camera.But it's not the same as being in a bad mood.He broke the fourth wall a bit.
And sure enough, the immersive broadcast has the basic stats reading the scores as I look down and watch them on the court screens above me.But why not have a way to tilt my wrist and see all the pop-up stats on the air in augmented reality?
Not being able to change perspective is also frustrating.The broadcast is treated like a network-cut feed, so you're the one being transferred.At least it doesn't go too far.
This represents Apple's early attempts at immersive sports streaming, so I can be more forgiving.At the same time, two years into the Vision Pro's life cycle, it's not as cheap or "professional" as most people want it to be.
If Apple creates a cheaper way to wear a visually impaired monitor,and improve the way you experience and interact with these activities.I'll sing a different tune, for now, this is just another immersive presentation of high-end cameras and displays.
I want more proof of how these moments of near-telepresence can rise beyond mere recording, and into something much more intense than I've already experienced.It's fun, but it's not the ultimate way to watch games, which I'm very interested in so far.
