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I just watched the world's first ‘haptic’ trailer for Apple's F1 movie and my fingers are still tingling

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Brad Pitt's new movie gets a neat gimmick, but only on iPhones

Two iPhones on a blue background showing Brad Pitt in an F1 trailer
(Image credit: Apple)
  • Apple has just released the world's first 'haptic' trailer for its F1 movie
  • The trailer vibrates your phone in time with action sequences
  • The F1 movie pulls into theaters internationally from June 25

I thought I'd seen every movie trailer gimmick by now, but Apple has just produced a novel one for its incoming F1 movie – a 'haptic' trailer that vibrates your iPhone in time with the on-screen action.

If you have an iPhone (Android fans are sadly excluded from the rumble party) head to the haptic trailer for F1: The Movieto open it in the Apple TV app. You'll then be treated to two minutes of vibrations that's probably also a taste of what it's like to being a celebrity in the middle of a social media storm.

The trailer's 'haptic' experience was actually better than I was expecting. I assumed it would be a simple, one-dimensional rumble that fired up during race sequences, but it's a little more nuanced than that.

To start with, you feel the light vibration of a driver's seat belt being fastened, before the vibrations ramp up for the driving and crash sequences. There's even a light tap to accompany Brad Pitt's character Sonny Hayes moodily bouncing balls against a wall as he ponders coming out of retirement for one last sports movie trope.

Sure, it isn't exactly an IMAX experience for your phone, but if ever there was a movie designed for a haptic movie trailer, it's Apple's F1 movie...

One last Pitt stop

F1 — Official Trailer | Apple TV+ - YouTube F1 — Official Trailer | Apple TV+ - YouTube
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Apple's F1 movie was also the star of its recent WWDC 2025 event, with the livestream opening with Craig Federighi (Apple's Senior Vice President of Software Engineering) donning a helmet before doing a lap around the roof of its Apple Park building.

There's currently no date for the movie to stream on Apple TV+, with the focus currently on its imminent theater premiere. It officially opens internationally on June 27, but there are some special, one-off screenings in IMAX theaters on June 23 (in North America) and June 25 (internationally) for keen fans who signed up on the movie's official website.

The trailers so far suggest that F1 is going to effectively be Top Gun: Maverick set on a race track – and with both movies sharing the same director (Joseph Kosinski) and screenplay writer (Ehren Kruger), that seems like a pretty safe bet. F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton was also involved to help amp up the realism.

If the haptic-powered trailer has whetted your appetite, check out our interview with Damson Idris who also stars in F1 and gave us a behind-the-scenes look at what the movie was like to film. Hint; they used specialized tracking cars to help nail the demanding takes flawlessly.

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Mark Wilson
Mark Wilson
Senior news editor

Mark is TechRadar's Senior news editor. Having worked in tech journalism for a ludicrous 17 years, Mark is now attempting to break the world record for the number of camera bags hoarded by one person. He was previously Cameras Editor at both TechRadar and Trusted Reviews, Acting editor on Stuff.tv, as well as Features editor and Reviews editor on Stuff magazine. As a freelancer, he's contributed to titles including The Sunday Times, FourFourTwo and Arena. And in a former life, he also won The Daily Telegraph's Young Sportswriter of the Year. But that was before he discovered the strange joys of getting up at 4am for a photo shoot in London's Square Mile. 

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