Apple first announced its Spatial Audio feature for AirPods Pro last summer, but only after AirPods Max was introduced did Apple’s version of the surround sound come to fruition. If you own some of the company’s new over-the-ear headphones – or some AirPods Pro – you may be wondering: What on earth is Spatial Audio and how do you even use it? Wonder no more.
Spatial sound actually makes it seem like sound is coming from all directions, and in our testing it’s quite amazing.
To turn it on, turn on AirPods Max or AirPods Pro and open Bluetooth in Settings. Tap on the ‘I’ next to the name of your headphones or earbuds in your device list. Turn on Spatial sound.
It’s incredibly easy to set up, but the biggest problem with Spatial Audio is that only certain models of iPhones and iPads are compatible – see the full list below:
- iPhone 7 or newer
- iPad 6th generation or newer
- iPad Pro 3rd generation or newer
- iPad Air 4th generation or newer
- iPad mini 5th generation or newer
It would be a dream if Apple added support for Apple TV so that you could fully immerse yourself in a larger screen, but alas.
After enabling Spatial Audio, it’s now challenging to find content to watch using the feature. Not every streaming service supports it (ahem, Netflix), but services like Apple TV + and Disney + do. Check out the details of the program or movie you want to watch, mention Dolby Atmos, 5.1ch or 7.1ch surround sound. These formats are compatible with Spatial Audio and will make everything you watch sound incredible.