As part of iOS 14, released in September 2020, Apple introduced spatial audio, a technology designed to deliver surround sound and 3D audio for movies and TV shows through headphones from Apple devices. The idea is to recreate the audio experience of a cinema, between your ears.
Apple’s spatial audio is unique in that it doesn’t only provide virtualised surround and Dolby Atmos sound; it also tracks your head movement using accelerometers and gyroscopes in the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max in order to position the sound accurately, and even tracks the position of the iPhone or iPad that you’re watching on so that sound is also placed relative to the screen. This means that even if you turn your head or reposition your device, dialogue will still be anchored to the actor on the screen.
Movies and TV shows are where spatial audio all started, but music has now been invited. This year, Apple launched a sound-only implementation of spatial audio – there’s no head tracking involved. It’s powered by Dolby Atmos and means thousands of immersive tracks are now available to subscribers of Apple Music. What’s more, you don’t need a pair of Apple or Beats headphones in order to listen to them from an iPhone or iPad – any headphones will work, as long as you enable a specific setting.
This story is from the October 2021 edition of What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision.
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This story is from the October 2021 edition of What Hi-Fi Sound and Vision.
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