U2 Opens Sphere in Las Vegas, iPhone and Live Events, Apple Vision Pro and Live Events
Hello everyone. Happy Tuesday.
Today's update will take us through a few topics. We need to first set the scene though with the Sphere, an all-new entertainment venue that rethinks live events, officially opening in Las Vegas. Our discussion will then expand to iPhone usage trends and conclude with Vision Pro.
Let's jump right in.
U2 Opens Sphere in Las Vegas
Here's The Hollywood Reporter:
“Given U2's reputation for pushing technical and creative boundaries with its live concerts, it seemed fitting that the band opened the anticipated Sphere in Las Vegas on Friday with its most ambitious and transportive live ever: an electrifying live performance and visual odyssey that unfolds on Sphere's enveloping 160,000-square-foot wraparound interior LED display.
Built for an estimated $2.3 billion, Sphere is a big gamble by MSG mogul James Dolan and Sphere Entertainment Co. (which was formed in April to combine Sphere and MSG Networks) on the future of entertainment. At 336 feet tall and 516 feet wide, the venue is now the largest spherical structure in the world, housing the largest interior and exterior wraparound LED displays. Inside, the enveloping LED display supports a high resolution of 16K, meaning that it delivers images so lifelike that it may make you feel as though you're no longer in a Las Vegas venue but transported into the visual content - something that U2 used to great effect during the two-hour show. Meanwhile, an all-new immersive sound system from Berlin-based Holoplot is configured with roughly 1,600 loudspeakers to deliver the experience to all of the seats in Sphere's challenging design.”
Sphere provides ~20,000 people experiences that include visual, audio, haptic vibrations (for 10,000 seats), temperature, scent, and wind (compressed air) components. The goal: “convince you that you are somewhere else.” One of the more intriguing aspects to the Sphere is how it changes the perspective of what constitutes a good or bad view or experience at a live event. Sure, there is still only one front row when it comes to being near the musical act. However, one is able to consume the broader (video) experience from most of the 17,500 seats.
Over the weekend, the Sphere took over social media.
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