Apple first announced its Spatial Audio feature for AirPods Pro last summer, but it wasn’t until the launch of AirPods Max that Apple’s surround sound version stood out. If you own a pair of the company’s new headphones – or a pair of AirPods Pro – you may be wondering: what the hell is space audio and how do you use it? Don’t ask yourself anymore.
Spatial audio basically makes it look like audio comes from all directions and, in our tests, it’s amazing.
To turn it on, put on your AirPods Max or AirPods Pro and open Bluetooth in Settings. Touch ‘I’ next to the name of your headphones or ear plugs in the device list. Activate Space Audio.
It’s incredibly easy to set up, but the biggest problem with Spatial Audio is that only a few models of iPhones and iPads are compatible – see the full list below:
- iPhone 7 or later
- 6th generation iPad or later
- iPad Pro 3rd generation or later
- iPad Air 4th generation or later
- iPad mini 5th generation or later
It would be a dream if Apple added support for Apple TV so you could fully immerse yourself on a bigger screen, but unfortunately.
After enabling Spatial Audio, now comes the challenge of finding content to watch that takes advantage of the feature. Not every streaming service supports it (ahem, Netflix), but services like Apple TV + and Disney + do. In the details of the program or movie you are interested in watching, look for the mention of Dolby Atmos, 5.1 channel or 7.1 channel surround sound. These formats are compatible with Spatial Audio and will make everything you’re watching sound amazing.