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All the Apps That Support Apple's Spatial Audio Feature

I hope that airlines will take advantage of the current period to soon allow their long-haul passengers to use this technology while watching movies.
The first ones own the headlines.
 
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I have a love/hate relationship with this on Hulu. It doesn’t sound like I have headphones on, so I am constantly paranoid people can hear what I am hearing. When you turn your head, the sound still feels like it is coming out of your phone.

It truly is trippy.
 
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urbanslaughter1997 said:
Now, if only my AirPods Pros hadn't stopped working suddenly last month. Not even two years old yet. They just started playing in one ear only. That one ear switches back and forth but Apple swears it's not a software issue. OK, then the product didn't even last two years. It doesn't seem like that's too much to ask of a company for a $250 set of ear pods.
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Did you try warranting them through the recall? I would tell them you are experiencing a sound issue and see what they would do... See link.

AirPods Pro Service Program for Sound Issues - Apple Support

AirPods Pro Service Program for Sound Issues
support.apple.com
 
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bbplayer5 said:
I have a love/hate relationship with this on Hulu. It doesn’t sound like I have headphones on, so I am constantly paranoid people can hear what I am hearing. When you turn your head, the sound still feels like it is coming out of your phone.

It truly is trippy.
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I’m not sure how many people will discover this since it isn’t enabled by default, but I was going to write same thing...it makes the sound seem as if it is just in the room with you and not like you are listening with headphones. Wish it was available in Apple TV and not just mobile devices.
 
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Morgenland said:
You can watch movies and distinguish sounds from the left, right, front and back and only need 2 sound sources.
The method uses multi-channel audio (e.g. 5.1 AC3 or 7.1/Atmos E-AC3) and Apple recalculates it.
It realistically only works with headphones though (and only in theory with 2 speakers).
Due to the gyro head movement detection of the AirPods, which Apple includes in the sound calculation in real time, the sound positions remain stationary in the room even when the head is turned. I tried it with the AirPods Pro, which is stunning.
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I actually would like to ask you to elaborate on this: I have Airpods Pro and I tried using them with Spatial Audio activated and watching movies with AppleTV+ on my iphone X and also iPad latest gen, and the result is that I get the effect where the audio is seemingly anchored to the device even when you move your head, which makes it sound like you are not wearing earbuds at all. But I do NOT get any sort of surround sound. If I look straight at the device the sound always comes from in front of me, never from the sides or behind like when you have a surround system. Am I missing something here? Or is it that when you say that you can hear the sound coming from left, right, front and back you are talking about the effect when you move your head?
 
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It is a really weird feature. I don't really see the benefit of it of the sound behaving like it is coming from the device. I often put my device off to the side why listening to what I'm "watching", and the result is less sound in my AirPods because it pans completely to one side. Not a real benefit.

It is really intended to correct for small head movements while watching straight on but since it goes much farther than that, its mostly a nuisance.
 
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Lemon Olive said:
It is a really weird feature. I don't really see the benefit of it of the sound behaving like it is coming from the device.
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I believe the "head tracking" aspect of spatial audio will really come to play later on when Apple has an AR product. (ie. Apple Glass or what have you) You can disable the head tracking in iOS and still enjoy surround sound in AirPods Pro/Max.
 
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JeffPerrin said:
I believe the "head tracking" aspect of spatial audio will really come to play later on when Apple has an AR product. (ie. Apple Glass or what have you) You can disable the head tracking in iOS and still enjoy surround sound in AirPods Pro/Max.
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How do you enjoy surround sound without the head tracking? The only thing I notice from spatial audio is the head tracking! If I look straight I notice zero difference between spatial audio on and off and it's only when I move my head that I notice the trippy effect of the sound coming from the device. I tested this with Greyhound on ATV+. Is there any setting or specific content I can check to experience ACTUAL surround sound with spatial audio and NOT the head tracking/sound coming from the device thing?
 
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Enduin said:
How do you enjoy surround sound without the head tracking? The only thing I notice from spatial audio is the head tracking! If I look straight I notice zero difference between spatial audio on and off and it's only when I move my head that I notice the trippy effect of the sound coming from the device. I tested this with Greyhound on ATV+. Is there any setting or specific content I can check to experience ACTUAL surround sound with spatial audio and NOT the head tracking/sound coming from the device thing?
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You are listening to it wrong. 😀

There is actually a HUGE difference in the sound, providing you have the gear and are watching a streaming service that supports both Dolby 5.1 (and above) AND spatial audio. These services include Apple TV+, Hulu, Disney+, Vudu, and Peacock/Paramount+ when they launch. Spatial audio is not currently available on Netflix or Amazon Prime.

You also will need an IOS device - iPhone or iPad. Current Apple TVs and Macs do not yet have the feature, although it's very likely they will in next generation software and/or hardware.

The difference is profound. Without it, you are listening to movie soundtracks in stereo. With it, you are listening to Dolby Atmos! Watch Avengers Endgame or an episode of Mandalorian. Spatial audio turns your headphones into a theater style listening environment. Watch/listen to some content for about half an hour and then switch off the spatial audio. Yuck!
 
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Enduin said:
Is there any setting or specific content I can check to experience ACTUAL surround sound with spatial audio and NOT the head tracking/sound coming from the device thing?
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The effect will heavily depend on the production. Marvel action scenes are a great source, for sure! (Also see John Wick 1!)

Of course I have to plug my Surround Speaker Check app. It was originally designed for testing home theater speakers via the Apple TV, but turns out it makes for a pretty good demonstration of how Apple's spatial audio translates 5.1 audio for AirPods Pro & AirPods Max!
 
G5isAlive said:
The reason the Macs and Apple TV don't support this is Apple doesn't just positionally track the AirPod Max or Pro, but it tracks the video device as well. The necessary hardware is not in the Mac or Apple TV (yet).
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Genuine question - since the Apple TV doesn't really move... cant they just take that into account? Same for a Mac?
 
I don’t get the point of spatial audio. It’s cool for sure, but I find myself preferring the normal audio experience. Is there something I’m missing?
 
jclo said:
Let us know if we're missing any apps that have spatial audio support and we'll add them to the list.
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According to their release notes, both EPIX and EPIX NOW added support 5 months ago. EPIX was the first update I had with spacial audio, though I do not own AirPods Pro so I cannot confirm. Hopefully someone who uses EPIX and has the right hardware can confirm?
 
countryside said:
Genuine question - since the Apple TV doesn't really move... cant they just take that into account? Same for a Mac?
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still it must know where is the current position of the source, unless apple will always assume that mac and apple tv are always positioned 90 degree from the user and at eye level. i am assuming here.
 
Has anyone had success with FE File Explorer Pro?

Audio is just quieter compared to Infuse but no spatial audio.
 
Could you please point out a song in tidal tanta supports it? Can’t find it working in any 360RA or Atmos Song I tested.
 
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