In one of the nuttiest ideas I have heard of recently, apparently Apple has released a trailer for its forthcoming AppleTV channel movie “F1” complete with haptics.
For those not aware, haptics is the fancy term given to the sensation you get when your phone or tablet or smartwatch “buzzes” and you feel the vibration.
Not owning any Apple products, I cannot say I have experienced this with the trailer, but there have been a few comments made by other journos on the subject who have – and I’ll leave comment on that and let you look them up.
Suffice to say I think it is a gormless idea, and for anyone who has ever raced a car, or even been on a track day with a genuine car and driver as some of the V8 teams allow, then the supposed “feel of every rumble and gear shift when watching it on the iPhone” is just plain nonsense.
And this coming from someone that actually enjoyed 3D TV to the amusement of most of my peers.
If you have never thought about having one of these fast laps, do it and you’ll immediately understand what I mean. The senses are far, far more than just a rumble and vibration trust me. You will either love it or frankly, be scared half to death. I have seen people unable to walk for 10 minutes afterwards, and in one case at the now defunct Oran Park in Sydney, after a stint as a passenger in one of the Holden Racing Team cars (as driven by the likes of Peter Brock), the passenger had to be prised from the passenger seat.
Feel every rumble and gear shift indeed …..bah!
(Photo: Courtesy Ross Gibb Photography at the Melbourne Grand Prix in 2018)