Football has been back for quite a few months now, but we’re still not allowed to go into a stadium to watch as part of a huge crowd. But EE is hoping to bring back the thrill of the stadium experience, as part of a new "Match Day Experience" that will take advantage of augmented reality, 5G, and the iPhone 12.
Match Day Experience is part of the BT Sport app, and is designed to offer up a stadium-like experience while still maintaining the social distancing that keeps everyone safe from COVID. It’s a “revolutionary new way to watch sport” according to EE, and puts the viewer in better control of what they’re watching.
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The main feature is that you get to take advantage of multi-cam views, an interactive timeline, or watch the game with a 360-degree view for a more immersive feeling. It can’t replicate actually being there, but it’s the closest thing we have right now. Those cameras also give you a glimpse into behind the scenes areas where fans aren’t normally allowed, like dugouts, changing rooms, pitch tunnels, and more.
On top of that Match Day Experience uses AR to layer on other details within the app, while you get to video chat with up to three friends while you watch everything that’s happening on the pitch.
But how does 5G come into things? It’s basically just EE taking advantage of the enhanced network’s features, and offering more video without all the buffering and lag you might have experienced on another kind of network.
So far four football games, along with one Rugby game, have been confirmed to get this experience, though we imagine more will be announced in the near future:
- 24 Oct - Gallagher Premiership Rugby Final – Exeter Chiefs v Wasps
- 27 Oct - UEFA Champions League – Marseille v Manchester City
- 28 Oct - UEFA Champions League – Manchester United v RB Leipzig
- 29 Oct - UEFA Europa League – Antwerp v Tottenham Hotspur
- 31 Oct - Premier League - Sheffield United V Manchester City
The whole thing is being bundled as part of EE’s ‘Full Works’ plan for the iPhone 12. Naturally the plan gets you an iPhone 12 or 12 Pro, plus 5G connectivity, unlimited data, three Smart Benefits (including Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade), and 24 months of BT Sport with the Match Day Experience bundled in. Or, if you’d rather buy your iPhone 12 SIM free, you can get everything else on a SIM only deal.
For those of you that have a 5G phone that isn’t an iPhone 12, this experience isn’t available for you to enjoy. Maybe that will change, but for now it’s only for the newest iPhones.
