On May 17, 2021, Apple has announced that they’re all set to bring Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos to Apple Music to deliver industry-leading, immersive sound quality. This feature will be available to all Apple Music subscribers from June 2021, at no additional cost.
Apple says that the support for Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos for Apple Music will enable artists to mix music so the sound comes from all around and from above. This will deliver a realistic, dramatic, and more immersive audio performance.
At launch, Apple Music subscribers will have access to thousands of songs in Spatial Audio from various music genres and the world’s biggest artists, including J Balvin, Maroon 5, Gustavo Dudamel, The Weeknd, Ariana Grande, and others. Apple Music will offer 20 million songs in Lossless Audio at the launch, and 55 million songs will be added to the list by end of the year apparently.
By default, Apple Music will automatically play Dolby Atmos tracks on AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and all Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip. Joining the list of compatible devices are the built-in speakers of the latest iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Therefore, if you’re planning to buy new earphones or headphones, it’s a smart idea to get one that works with the new Spatial Audio feature.
Apple Music will constantly get Dolby Atmos tracks and will also offer a curated Dolby Atmos playlist for its listeners. It’s worth mentioning that albums that support Spatial Audio will have the new Dolby Atmos logo for easy identification. You can choose to listen in lossless format by going to Settings > Music > Audio Quality and then selecting different resolutions according to the connections-
Wi-Fi, Cellular, or download.
The company has mentioned that Apple Music’s standard Lossless tier will start at “CD quality,” which is 16 bit at 44.1 kHz and goes up to 24 bit at 48 kHz. For music lovers, Apple Music will also offer Hi-Res Lossless up to 24 bit at 192 kHz.
Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos feature will be available on iOS 14.6, iPadOS 14.6, macOS 11.4, and tvOS 14.6 or later. Here’s the full list of Apple devices that can handle Spatial Audio:
- iPhone 7 or later
- iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd gen or later)
- iPad Pro 11-inch
- iPad (6th gen or later)
- iPad Air (3rd gen or later)
- iPad Mini (5th gen)
- MacBook Pro (2018 or later)
- Apple TV (Music only)
Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos and Lossless Audio is coming to Apple Music subscribers with no additional cost from June 2021. Therefore, Apple Music will continue to be available at $9.99/month and also as a part of the Apple One Plan.
