The Vision Pro NBA app turns some games into a miniature 3D diorama


The NBA has introduced a new AR feature for its Vision Pro app this week called Tabletop, which places a floating render of a basketball court in your space during “select” live games, according to an NBA help page describing the feature. On the court, digital avatars mirror the game’s actual players as they move, pass, and shoot — but only for live games that you can watch or listen to with NBA League Pass.
The feature even works for local market games that are otherwise unavailable to stream video of in the app. It was about 45 seconds behind the announcer audio during a local game I tested it with, but Vision Pro owner Justin Ryan reported about a half-second delay after using a toolbar option to sync with the live feed. The feature wasn’t available for any out-of-market games when I tested, so I only had an audio feed to compare with.
Each player has the same avatar (shown as either a robot or with a cell-shaded cartoon style), but you can still differentiate by the color of their jerseys and the names and numbers emblazoned on them. Their name is also placed above their head when they have the ball. The NBA didn’t immediately respond when I asked whether the feature will be available for this weekend’s NBA All-Star events. Here’s a screen recording of the feature from my own Vision Pro, followed by a timestamped link to the same moment from a highlights reel the NBA posted after the game:
The feature is reminiscent of what the Lapz Vision Pro app did for Formula 1 races before it was shut down by F1 itself. If you subscribe to NBA League Pass and have a Vision Pro, look for a new Tabletop button next to the usual “Watch Live” and “Multiview” buttons in the NBA app.
Tabletop was surprisingly polished for an alpha feature when I tried it out. The NBA has shown off mixed reality tech it’s experimenting with in the past, such as the above presentation from NBA commissioner Adam Silver in which he demonstrates using a 3D scan of sports commentator Ahmad Rashad to replace a player in an in-game clip.
The NBA has introduced a new AR feature for its Vision Pro app this week called Tabletop, which places a floating render of a basketball court in your space during “select” live games, according to an NBA help page describing the feature. On the court, digital avatars mirror the game’s…
Recent Posts
- An obscure French startup just launched the cheapest true 5K monitor in the world right now and I can’t wait to test it
- Google Meet’s AI transcripts will automatically create action items for you
- No, it’s not an April fool, Intel debuts open source AI offering that gauges a text’s politeness level
- It’s clearly time: all the news about the transparent tech renaissance
- Windows 11 24H2 hasn’t raised the bar for the operating system’s CPU requirements, Microsoft clarifies
Archives
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- September 2018
- October 2017
- December 2011
- August 2010