What you need to know
- Spatial audio and Dolby Atmos for Apple Music are now available.
- Apple has confirmed that it is also bringing dynamic head tracking to Apple Music in the fall.
- Spatial audio currently works with Apple's AirPods to provide cinema-style sound that follows your head movements.
Apple has confirmed that spatial audio with dynamic head tracking will be available for Apple Music starting in the fall.
In a support document updated on Tuesday, Apple states:
We are excited to announce that spatial audio with dynamic head tracking is coming to Apple Music in the fall. Dynamic head tracking creates an even more immersive experience for spatial audio. It brings music to life by delivering sound that dynamically adjusts as you turn your head. And you can experience spatial audio with dynamic head tracking on AirPods Pro and AirPods Max with a compatible iPhone or iPad.
As Apple notes, currently dynamic head tracking applies to Apple's AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, and is used when watching film or video to simulate cinema-style audio that changes based on your head movements and the position of your iPhone or iPad.
Apple doesn't say more about what dynamic head tracking might sound like when used with Apple Music. Apple announced at WWDC 2021 Monday that spatial audio for Apple Music was launching this week. Apple's Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos brings a new level of audio immersion to devices like Apple's AirPods and select Beats headphones and even third-party offerings. Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, as well as Apple's new lossless audio are available at no extra cost to Apple Music subscribers.
It seems likely that if dynamic head tracking is limited to the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max when it comes to audio and video, the same might be true of music too if you need to upgrade be sure to check out our round-up of the best AirPods deals currently available.
