Spatial audio with dynamic head tracking brings cinema-like sound from the film or video you're watching, so that the sound seems like it's coming from all around you.
What you need
- AirPods Pro [1st or 2nd generation], AirPods Max, AirPods [3rd generation] or Beats Fit Pro
- The built-in speakers on an iPhone 7 or later, or on one of these iPad
models:
- iPad Pro 12.9‑inch [3rd generation] and later
- iPad Pro 11‑inch
- iPad Air [3rd generation] and later
- iPad [6th generation] and later
- iPad mini [5th generation] and later
- iOS or iPadOS 15.1 or later
- The built-in speakers on a Mac computer with Apple silicon
- Apple TV 4K with tvOS 15 or later
- Audiovisual content from a supported app
Turn on spatial audio
Find out how to turn on spatial audio on your iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV.
Turn on spatial audio on your iPhone or iPad
- Make sure you're wearing your AirPods Pro [1st or 2nd generation], AirPods Max, AirPods [3rd generation] or Beats Fit Pro, and that they're connected to your iPhone or iPad.
- Open Control Centre on your iPhone or on your iPad.
- Touch and hold the volume control to turn on spatial audio while you're playing multichannel content or Spatialise Stereo while you're playing two-channel stereo content. This also shows you the status icons.
- When you turn on spatial audio with head tracking, audio adjusts based on your head movement. To turn on spatial audio and dynamic head tracking, tap Head Tracked. To turn on spatial audio only, tap Fixed. To turn off spatial audio and dynamic head tracking, tap Off.
Turn on spatial audio on your Mac with Apple silicon
- Make sure you're wearing your AirPods Pro [1st or 2nd generation], AirPods Max, AirPods [3rd generation] or Beats Fit Pro, and that they're connected to your Mac.
- Click the AirPods or Beats icon in the menu bar to see Spatial Audio listed while you're playing multichannel content, or Spatialise Stereo while you're playing two-channel stereo content.
- Click Head Tracked to turn on spatial audio and dynamic head tracking. To turn on spatial audio only, click Fixed. To turn off spatial audio and dynamic head tracking, click Off.
Turn on spatial audio on your Apple TV
- Make sure you're wearing your AirPods Pro [1st or 2nd generation], AirPods Max, AirPods [3rd generation] or Beats Fit Pro, and that they're connected to your Apple TV.
- Go to Settings > Remotes and Devices > Bluetooth. Or you can press and hold the Home button on your Siri Remote while you're playing audio-visual content in a supported app.
- Choose your AirPods or Beats from the list.
- Choose Spatial Audio while you're playing multichannel content or Spatialise Stereo while you're playing two-channel stereo content. This also shows you the status icons.
Some device settings, including Follow iPhone, Balance, Mono audio and Headphone Accommodations, can affect how spatial audio works.
Published Date: September 29, 2022
With iOS 16, Apple made available a new feature for AirPods users called Personalized Spatial Audio. This article explains what it is and how to set it up on iPhone.
According to Apple, Personalized Spatial Audio is designed to create an even more precise and immersive listening experience than standard Spatial Audio, which uses Dolby
Atmos to create a richer, more immersive soundstage when listening to songs in the Apple Music catalog.
Personalized Spatial Audio does this by using the TrueDepth camera on an iPhone to analyze the shape of your ears in three dimensions and use this mapping to create a personal sound profile that's tuned just for you. Here's what you need to start using it.
What You'll Need
- iPhone with Face ID running iOS 16 or later.
- AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, AirPods Pro 2, or AirPods Max.
How to Set Up Personalized Spatial Audio
- With AirPods connected, launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap on the name of your AirPods, just below your Apple ID banner.
- Under "Spatial Audio," tap Personalized Spatial Audio.
- Tap Personalize Spatial Audio....
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
When the setup process is complete, you can tap See & Hear How It Works on the previous screen to get an idea of
how it sounds. If you don't like what you hear, you can always disable the feature via Personalized Spatial Audio -> Stop Using Personalized Spatial Audio....
How to Turn Spatial Audio On and Off in Control Center
- Make sure the AirPods 3/Pro/Max are connected to your iPhone.
- Launch the Control Center with a diagonal swipe down from the upper right of the screen.
- Touch and hold the volume control bar.
- Tap the Spatial Audio button to turn it on or off.
If spatial audio is enabled and active, the spatial audio button will be blue and animated with audio waves around the listener's head. If spatial audio is enabled but not active for the audio content that you're listening to, the spatial audio button will be blue but static.
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