DAZN’s FIFA Club World Cup XR Thing – My Messy Test Drive
So DAZN announced this FIFA Club World Cup “XR Experience”. Sounded flashy. “Immersive!” “Next level!” they screamed. Figured, why not poke it? As someone who fiddles with tech, I had to see what the fuss was about.
First up, grabbed the DAZN app on my phone. Updated it to the latest version – you know how it goes. Already a tiny headache ’cause it felt slower than usual after the update. Then, hunted for the XR bit. Scrolled through menus like I was lost in a forest. Took forever. Ended up typing “FIFA XR” in their damn search bar. Found it tucked away in some corner.
Opened the XR section. Big mistake thinking it was plug-and-play. Nah. It demanded more app downloads. My phone storage groaned. Installed whatever extra VR/AR app they pointed at. Permissions popped up like annoying flies – camera access? Fine. Location? Why? Microphone? Seriously? Slammed “Allow” just to get moving. Felt a bit grumbly.
Time to start the thing. Held the phone up, waved it around like a lunatic. Instructions were basic – “Move phone slowly.” Yeah, super helpful. Waited. And waited. Blank screen. White circle spinning. The phone started sweating bullets; got hot quick. Restarted the whole circus. Second try, shapes kinda flickered into view.
Finally saw some virtual stuff overlayed on my room through the screen. A shaky, ghostly football pitch? Or maybe player stats floating? Honestly, it looked blurry. Lagged behind my movements too – made me dizzy. Tried tapping virtual buttons hovering near my coffee table. My finger jabbed empty air a few times before registering. Felt dumb.
Then the “interactive” bits. Promised highlights. Tapped a floating ball icon. Screen went black. Then loaded… just regular video clips I could’ve watched normally on DAZN! Not XR! Big letdown. Another option for “player stats”? Loaded a 2D info card that froze halfway. Pointed my phone near the TV where real match posters were – nothing happened. Tried waving it at the cat. Cat wasn’t impressed either.
Basically, this XR “experience” felt like:
- A phone heater (seriously, felt dangerous)
- Way too many app hoops to jump through
- Blurry, laggy visuals that made my head spin
- No real “extra reality” – just ordinary video clips and broken features
- A chore compared to just watching the game
Finished up frustrated. Cleared a chunk of my phone storage dumping the extra apps. My take? Pure hype train right now. Probably rushed this out to slap “XR” on the promo posters. Wonder how much FIFA paid DAZN for this glorified tech demo. As a blogger? I gotta tell it straight: skip it, stick with the flat screen. The future might be XR, but DAZN sure ain’t driving.