WTF IS APPLE SPATIAL AUDIO?

Is this the US spelling of ‘special audio’?

Now, now. Spatial Audio – with Dolby Atmos, no less – creates immersive, multidimensional sound and clarity that comes from all around and above you, so think of it like surround sound but for music rather than dumb films. Sony is already doing something similar with 360 Reality Audio, but now there’s an Apple version and they won’t shut up about it.

Presumably it’s expensive?

Actually that’s the good bit, because

Spatial Audio songs on Apple Music are available at no extra cost, which is a pretty hefty shot across the bows of streaming rivals like Spotify and Tidal. The upgrade is in addition to a catalogue of 75 million songs in Lossless Audio also available to Apple Music subscribers for £9.99 a month.

But I need Apple headphones, right?

Well, yes, you’ve got that bit right. Spatial Audio tracks will play on Apple Music by default in IOS 14.6 on all Apple Airpods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip, as well as the built-in speakers on the latest iphones, ipads and Macs. How about Homepods? You’ll need a new Apple TV 4K (reviewed on p78) to go with them.

How do I set it up, then?

In Apple Music’s settings under Audio there’s an option to set Dolby Atmos to ‘Automatic’, ‘Always On’ or ‘Off’. Apple’s also building Spatial Audio authoring tools directly into music-making apps like Logic Pro – later this year it plans to release an update to Logic so anyone can create and mix songs in the format.

What’s there right now, Ed Sheeran?

Inevitably, along with “some of the world’s biggest artists and music across all genres”, and Apple has slapped a Spatial Audio badge on song details to make them easily discernible. There’s also a set of curated playlists remixed for the format.