APPLE SPATIAL AUDIO
What is it, and how do you get it?
Everything you need to know about Apple’s 3D audio tech for Apple Music and movie soundtracks
Supporting Apple hardware allows dynamic head tracking. Clever!
Apple spatial audio takes 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos signals and applies directional audio filters, adjusting the frequencies that each ear hears so that sounds can be placed virtually anywhere in 3D space. Sounds will appear to be coming from in front of you, from the sides, the rear and even above. The idea is to recreate the audio experience of a cinema.
Dolby Atmos for Headphones has been around for some time now, while Sony has its 360 Reality Audio format for music and has gone big on 3D audio for the PS5.
Apple’s spatial audio is unique, though, at least where movie soundtracks are concerned, in that it doesn’t only provide virtualised surround and Atmos sound, it also tracks your head movement using accelerometers and gyroscopes in the AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Max and Beats Fit Pro in order to position the sound accurately. It even tracks the position of the iPhone or iPad that you are watching on so that sound is also placed relative to the screen.