Apple’s New ‘F1’ Trailer Offers Haptic Features on iPhone
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Apple has released a new trailer for its upcoming summer tentpole film, F1, starring Brad Pitt. The trailer, created for viewing exclusively on the iPhone, offers unique haptic effects synced with the action in the trailer.
The trailer takes advantage of the iPhone’s Taptic Engine to create haptic vibrations that are synced with the trailer’s on-screen action, matching the intensity of what’s happening on the screen. That means that in scenes where a Formula One car starts up and the engine revs, or when the F1 cars are racing around the track, you’ll actually feel the vibrations in your hands while holding your iPhone to view the trailer.
The haptic effects range from heavy vibrations when engines rev or cars crash down to lighter haptic effects when Pitt bounces rubber balls off a wall.
I’ve viewed the trailer a few times on my iPhone 16 Pro Max, and I have to admit that the gimmick is entertaining and adds a bit more intensity when viewing the trailer on the iPhone’s relatively small screen. However, the effect is indeed a gimmick, which reminds me quite a bit of movies like Earthquake and Rollercoaster that used a gimmick called Sensurround in theaters in the 1970s (Look it up, kids).
Sensurround worked by adding extended-range bass for sound effects, making the low-frequency sounds more felt than heard, much like the haptic effects in the F1 trailer, enhancing the action on the screen, such as earthquakes and amusement park rides.
The effect used specially built speakers that were installed in select theaters, causing the entire theater (and any adjoining theaters in multiplexes) to vibrate. Older theaters proved incompatible with Sensurround, as the vibrations caused ceiling tiles and plaster to fall on the audience. The gimmick was abandoned after being used in a handful of releases.
Your iPhone needs to be running iOS 18.4 or later to handle the haptic effects. The haptic F1 trailer is available in the TV+ tab of the TV app on your iPhone.
F1 promises to be a blockbuster summer tentpole film that will sell a lot of popcorn. The film stars as Brad Pitt stars as a washed-up Formula One driver who was an up-and-coming talent until an accident on the track nearly ended his career in the ’90s, turning him into both a has-been and a never-was. Thirty years later, Pitt is invited to join a former teammate’s struggling F1 team. Pitt must deal with a cocky rookie teammate and his own fears to succeed.
In addition to Brad Pitt in the lead role, several other stars are along for the ride, including Javier Bardem, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and Kim Bodnia. The film was directed by Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski and it was written by Ehren Kruger. The score for the film was written by legendary German film score composer and music producer Hans Zimmer.
F1 is said to be Apple’s most expensive film to date, with a production budget of over $300 million. The film’s release comes as Apple has committed to cutting spending on content for its Apple TV+ streaming service, where F1 will wind up following its run through the theater circuit.
