You can now watch a full Metallica concert on Apple Vision Pro

You don’t need tickets to see Metallica in concert anymore—just a $3,499 Apple Vision Pro headset. 

Starting today, Apple Vision Pro users can experience Metallica’s 2024 Mexico City concert as an immersive, ultra-high resolution experience complete with 180-degree video and Spatial Audio. The concert, filmed on September 29 as part of the sold-out finale of Metallica’s M72 World Tour, includes fan-favorites like “One” and “Enter Sandman.”

“With Metallica on Apple Vision Pro, you feel like you’re right there: front row, backstage, and even on stage with one of the biggest bands of all time,” Tor Myhren, Apple’s vice president of Marketing Communications, said in a statement. 

The Vision Pro launched at the beginning of 2024 to lukewarm sales and has, generally speaking, failed to find success on the level of its phone and laptop counterparts.

Some of that was to be expected, though. When the Vision Pro first released, Apple mainly courted developers, hoping they’d be impressed enough to build apps for the product. Apple engaged these developers in a series of “test labs” leading up to the product’s release.

But recently, Apple has begun to roll out consumer-oriented features that make the hardware more appealing to everyday consumers—and has been using its best technology to do so. 

When it comes to the Metallica concert, Apple utilized high-end video technology in order to capture multiple perspectives and a view of over 65,000 enthusiastic concertgoers. This custom-made filming setup included 14 Apple Immersive Video cameras using a mix of stabilized cameras, cable-suspended cameras, and remote-controlled camera dolly systems that moved around the stage.

At South by Southwest in Austin, Metallica drummer and founder Lars Ulrich discussed the experience of having his own show turned into an augmented reality experience, calling it “pretty overwhelming, sort of surreal.” 

If metalheads—or any interested customer—wants to see the immersive experience for themselves, Apple Stores are offering Vision Pro demos complete with an excerpt from the concert including a full performance of the song “Whiplash.”

And if you prefer pop to rock, Alicia Keys and Raye both also have performances that have been exclusively shown on the Vision Pro. The Weeknd also has a similar immersive concert experience called “The Weeknd: Open Hearts.”

View the full article