Netflix might be testing spatial audio for AirPods Pro and AirPods Max

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What you need to know

  • Netflix is said to be testing support for spatial audio for those using AirPods Max and AirPods Pro.

Netflix is testing support for spatial audio for users of AirPods Max and AirPods Pro, according to a new report.

Citing an anonymous Netflix employee, iPhoneSoft says that Netflix has been testing support for the audio feature across iPhone and iPad since the end of last year.

Translated:

This novelty has been tested at Netflix since last December, according to a very well-informed source. This person is indeed working on the development part for the firm in the USA, but wishes to remain anonymous for obvious reasons. According to her, the leader in streaming should launch this novelty by spring with a logically limited catalog at the outset.

Spatial audio uses dynamic head tracking technology to move the audio around 3D space based on how a user is positioned in relation to a device's display. Here's how Apple describes the feature on its support website.

Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking brings theater-like sound that surrounds you from the movie or video you're watching, so that it seems as if the sound is coming from all around you. The sound field stays mapped to the device, and the voice stays with the actor or action on screen.

There's currently no indication as to when we can expect this feature to come to Netflix on iPhone and iPad, but it isn't thought that much work would need to be done on the part of the streamer. Apple builds support for spatial audio right into iOS and iPadOS, after all.

Spatial audio is available to AirPods Max and AirPods Pro users who are running an iPhone with iOS 14 or later or an iPad with iPadOS 14 or later.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.