Haptic trailer for Apple TV+ movie F1 lets you feel the racing action

A “haptic trailer” for Apple Original film F1: The Movie adds a new dimension to all the roaring race cars and manic pit stop maneuvers. When viewed on an iPhone, the first-of-its-kind trailer triggers the device’s Taptic Engine in sync with the on-screen action.

The unique trailer Apple released Monday is the buzziest movie gimmick since Percepto!, the system of electric buzzers placed underneath theater seats by director William Castle to stoke interest in his 1959 horror flick The Tingler.

Haptic trailer for F1 is a cool gimmick

The F1 haptic trailer is a cool marketing gimmick for a high-stakes film, delivered exclusively through the world’s most popular smartphone. Directed by Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy and Top Gun: Maverick), and starring Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem, the Formula One action flick has a reported budget of $300 million. (The film’s producer and director say it didn’t cost that much, but still.)

If the film becomes a hit with its June 27 theatrical release, it could recoup that money — and serve as a gigantic advertisement for Apple’s streaming service (where F1 will wind up later this year).

While Apple TV+ continues to win accolades for excellent shows like Severance and Slow Horses, the streamer hasn’t found as much success with its original movies. CODA made Apple TV+ the first streaming service to win an Oscar for Best Picture, but other films failed to break through. Even high-profile projects like Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and Ridley Scott’s Napoleon failed to conquer the box office, despite decent reviews.

F1 haptic trailer makes for buzzy on-screen action

Watching the F1 haptic trailer on an iPhone puts the movie’s audio elements front and center. When Pitt’s character is buckled into his high-horsepower racing machine, the iPhone jitters a bit. When he bounces balls off a wall, a staccato ticks emphasize the scene.

Things really get going when the pit crew’s power tools go into action. And Pitt revs his car’s engine, the Taptic Engine goes crazy. It’s like you’re in the middle of a text storm with your iPhone’s haptics set to on in Silent mode. It evokes that feeling of getting hammered by messages, only they’re being triggered by the action in the trailer.

On X and other social media, the haptic trailer for F1 got movie fans buzzing.

“Apple just dropped the first-ever *haptic* movie trailer and it’s WILD,” wrote @juanbuis on X. “You can literally feel the F1 engines rumble.”

apple just dropped the first-ever *haptic* movie trailer and it’s WILD

you can literally feel the F1 engines rumble

try it on iPhone: https://t.co/CcHN3CPa11

— juan (@juanbuis) June 11, 2025

It’s obviously the vibe trailer of the summer.

“Apple released a new F1 trailer that uses the iPhone’s haptic motor for physical feedback — so I turned the volume down and recorded just the vibrations,” wrote @imPatrickT on X. “It’s nuts to experience for real.”

Apple released a new F1 trailer that uses the iPhone’s haptic motor for physical feedback – so I turned the volume down and recorded just the vibrations.

it’s nuts to experience for real. pic.twitter.com/yBscUJftTb

— patrick. (@imPatrickT) June 11, 2025

The haptic trailer even won over some skeptics.

“I told my team the F1 Movie ‘haptic’ trailer sounded dumb, but I just watched it on iPhone 16 Pro and good God this is dopeeee,” wrote @raywongy on X. “The haptics are so well done. All the gear shifts and tempo matching. I want all trailers to be haptic trailers now.”

I told my team the F1 Movie “haptic” trailer sounded dumb, but I just watched it on iPhone 16 Pro and good God this is dopeeee. The haptics are so well done. All the gear shifts and tempo matching. I want all trailers to be haptic trailers now.

And it just works in the TV app.… pic.twitter.com/tCAzEbGWau

— Ray Wong (@raywongy) June 11, 2025

Apple innovates with a new type of trailer

Launching an entirely new type of trailer for F1 should boost interest in the film, which Apple also showcased during its WWDC25 keynote Monday.

And, as Cult of Mac Editor in Chief Leander Kahney said after watching the gimmicky trailer, maybe Apple could take things even further.

“What if they did it in movie theaters?” he joked in Slack. “You could sit on your phone to get the vibes right through your pants.”

That would one-up even genius movie marketer William Castle, who utilized World War II surplus airplane wing deicing motors to turn The Tingler into a memorable movie event. Castle spent $250,000 to attach the buzzers underneath certain seats in some large theaters, but couldn’t possibly install them everywhere.

With more than a billion iPhones in the wild, Apple could make haptic movie history! (Don’t count on it.)

What’s Apple TV+ F1 movie about?

For those not familiar with the film’s subject matter, F1: The Movie is a classic comeback story that emphasizes real racing scenes.

Apple TV+ describes F1 like this:

Dubbed “the greatest that never was,” Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt) was FORMULA 1’s most promising phenom of the 1990s until an accident on the track nearly ended his career. Thirty years later, he’s a nomadic racer-for-hire when he’s approached by his former teammate Ruben Cervantes (Javier Bardem), owner of a struggling FORMULA 1 team that is on the verge of collapse. Ruben convinces Sonny to come back to FORMULA 1 for one last shot at saving the team and being the best in the world. He’ll drive alongside Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), the team’s hotshot rookie intent on setting his own pace. But as the engines roar, Sonny’s past catches up with him and he finds that in FORMULA 1, your teammate is your fiercest competition — and the road to redemption is not something you can travel alone.

Watch the haptic trailer for Apple TV+ movie F1

If you own an iPhone, you can check out the F1 haptic trailer by opening the TV app. You should see the big, beautiful poster for the haptic F1 trailer on the app’s main screen. (If not, just look around.)

Otherwise, enjoy the non-haptic trailers below for a look at the intense racing action.