How to enable and play Spatial Audio on Apple Music

9to5Mac How to enable, find, and play Spatial Audio on Apple Music By Michael Potuck June 9, 2021

[{"selector":"#anim-f6bfb40c-093c-49b4-aff4-0148c6127d48","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-689da2d5-a1ce-494c-a148-7aac89865998","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Spatial Audio Spatial Audio has officially launched on Apple Music, powered by Dolby Atmos for those running iOS/tvOS 14.6 and macOS 11.4 or later. Let’s look at how to find and play Spatial Audio, as well as how to enable the feature to work with other headphones besides AirPods and Beats.

[{"selector":"#anim-cb89b42c-96b6-46a5-95e4-91286bba0224","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-95b20e71-f0ce-4b1f-a905-37abbe303319","keyframes":[{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":0},{"transform":"scale(0.95)","offset":0.25},{"transform":"scale(1.05)","offset":0.75},{"transform":"scale(1)","offset":1}],"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.3, 0.0, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both","iterations":1}] The default is automatic detection for Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio in iOS 14.6 and later. That works when using AirPods, AirPods Pro/Max, recent Beats headphones, and the built-in speakers on recent iPhone XR and later and recent iPad models.

[{"selector":"#anim-a201b45e-d8ff-4506-9714-c84a1b418280","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-68209196-9537-4843-b7bd-20ffce9312e0","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] How to enable Spatial Audio • On iPhone and iPad running iOS 14.6 or later, head to the Settings app • Swipe down to Music > Dolby Atmos • The default should be Automatic; tap Always On if you’d like to use Spatial Audio with non-Apple/Beats supported headphones

[{"selector":"#anim-23a90ce8-6b2b-4107-9139-20f9f30a0ddc","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-736ca3c4-13f8-4ec4-a4fc-bd6663dfa6be","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Find Spatial Audio tracks • Apple Music is highlighting content that’s available in Spatial Audio in the Listen Now, Browse, and Search tabs • In the Browse tab, check out all playlists made up of all Spatial Audio music like: Hits, Hip-Hop, Pop, Country, Rock, and Jazz

[{"selector":"#anim-1fe9822c-ac1c-42be-9b34-ed93ab2b080c","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f1d4b073-a113-4864-a5a9-4210a9c60932","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] • In the Search tab, there’s a new Spatial Audio category in the top left • Apple Music is using this as a hub for all the Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio content including videos, music, tutorials, featured albums, new content, and more

[{"selector":"#anim-d65d9868-c8ee-4ef4-8cae-79325f4222a5","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":500,"duration":600,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.4, 0.4, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] One More Thing… One more thing to know, if you’ve downloaded albums to your device, you’ll need to delete them and re-download them to enable Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio.

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