What’s the Difference Between Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos?

Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos are both immersive audio technologies. But they’re not the same.

Published March 29, 2024

·

Apple Music is the most popular lossless music streaming service in the world. Since 2021, subscribers have had access to a huge catalog of lossless tracks that are CD quality and better (up to 24-bit/192 kHz).

But it’s not just the higher bitrates that sets Apple Music apart. The tracks are more immersive, as well.

That’s because Apple Music supports both Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio, two immersive sound technologies that Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats, calls the “biggest advancement ever in sound quality.”

But what does each technology do? And how do they work together? Consider this your cheat sheet.

What is Spatial Audio?

Spatial Audio is Apple’s own immersive sound technology.

It uses the various sensors (specifically the accelerometers and gyroscopes) in Apple’s AirPods Pro (first- and second-generation) or AirPods Max to track the listener’s head movements. It then creates a virtual space based on the listener’s head and the device they are listening from (like an iPhone) so that it always sounds like the audio is coming out of that device.

homepod dolby atmos — Apple Music supports Dolby Atmos music in Spatial Audio. One way to experience it on a wireless speaker is with Apple’s full-sized HomePod.

For example, if you’re watching a movie on your iPhone and AirPods Pro and you turn your head to the right, the sound will become more prominent in your left ear because it’s closer to the action (the iPhone screen).

Which devices support Spatial Audio?

You need to be wearing AirPods Pro, AirPods Max or Beats Fit Pro and listening from an Apple device that supports Spatial Audio. If you’ve bought an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV in the past few years, it likely supports Spatial Audio; you just need to have it updated with the latest software.

Which apps support Spatial Audio?

If you have an iPhone or iPad and you’re listening on AirPods Pro, AirPods Max or Beats Fit Pro, there are a good amount of apps and services that support spatial audio.

The big ones are Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix, Hulu, Max, Peacock, Discovery+ and Paramount+. The most popular services that don’t support spatial audio (yet) are YouTube and Amazon Prime Video.

So, what is Dolby Atmos?

sonos era 300 dolby atmos — When streaming music on Apple Music to a wireless speaker that supports Dolby Atmos, like the Sonos Era 300, the “Dolby Atmos” icon appears in the app.

Dolby Atmos is one of the most sought-after features for any new soundbar or home theater system.

It’s an immersive audio technology that creates virtual height and side channels, which trick your ears into thinking that sound is coming from all around you — left, right and above — instead of just right in front of you.

Essentially, Atmos makes it sound like you’re in a movie or at a concert. It’s incredible.

What devices support Dolby Atmos?

A lot. Millions of devices around the world support Dolby Atmos, and it’s not just home theater systems and soundbars, either. The technology is built into PCs and tablets, game consoles and streaming sticks, smartphones, smart speakers, headphones and TVs.

Dolby licenses Atmos as a software package to various
manufacturers (like Apple, Samsung and Sonos), which figures out what kind of system you have, whether that’s a 2.0, 5.1.2 or a 7.1.2, and then renders the audio so that it sounds best.

What apps and services support Dolby Atmos?

Honestly, Dolby Atmos is so huge these days tht most apps and services support it. Streaming services like Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video are adding more Dolby Atmos movies and shows each and every day.

Additionally, music streaming services, such as Amazon Music Unlimited, TIDAL HiFi and Apple Music have a growing library of music that support Atmos, too.

Can you use Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos together?

Spatial Audio can work without Dolby Atmos, but more times than not you’re going to be listening to content that supports both simultaneously. In fact, Apple designed Spatial Audio so that it works best with Dolby Atmos. The combined effect lets you take better advantage of the virtual audio space that Dolby Atmos creates by allowing you to move around in it.

apple music spatial audio — Both Apple Music (shown) and Amazon Music Unlimited have dedicated playlists for Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos.

In a nutshell, Dolby Atmos creates the effect of watching a movie at a cinema or listening to music at a live concert — the sound comes from all around you (center, left, right, above and behind) — and Spatial Audio adds another layer that makes you feel like you’re in movie or moving around at the concert.

When listening to music, you can turn your head to left or right and the vocals and instruments will become more or less prominent depending on where you’re facing. If you’re watching a movie on your iPhone or Apple TV, and a character is yelling on the right side of the screen, you can turn your head to the right and it’ll sound like they are yelling right at you.

What content supports Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos?

You need to be wearing AirPods Pro or AirPods Max and listening from an updated Apple device that’s from 2018 or later. From there, any content that Atmos (or 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound) will be able to take advantage of the Spatial Audio feature. Most video streaming apps, such as Apple TV+, Hulu, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video support some sort of surround sound technologies on Apple devices. (Netflix only supports stereo sound on iOS devices.) Apple Music is the only music streaming service that supports Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos.

Headphones vs Speakers: Is there a difference when playing Spatial Audio?

The terms “Dolby Atmos” and “Spatial Audio” are often used interchangeably — especially by speaker manufacturers like Sonos — and it’s for good reason. They are both immersive sound technologies and when listening to Apple’s wireless earbuds and headphones, like the AirPods Pro, AirPods 3) and AirPods Max, content that supports Spatial Audio really piggybacks off Dolby Atmos content (because it’s so popular) and takes it one step further.

spatial audio airpods — Most of Apple’s AirPods support Spatial Audio. The only ones that do not are its entry-level AirPods.

However, the way that speakers and headphones (and earbuds) play Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos content is innately different.

Headphones (and earbuds) are naturally able to play a more immersive sound. They cover your ears entirely and immersive you with sound. Apple’s wireless headphones and earbuds that support Spatial Audio take things a step further by using the various sensors (specifically, the accelerometers and gyroscopes) to adjust the sound based on your head’s movement. Rather than making it sound like you’re at a concert, Spatial Audio makes it feel like you’re moving around at a concert.

homepod v sonos era 300 — There are a few standalone speakers (non-soundbars) that support Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio. The two most popular are Apple’s HomePod (*left*) and Sonos’s Era 300 (*right*).

Speakers that support Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio, such as the Apple HomePod and the Sonos Era 300, are a lot more limited than headphones because they can’t create as immersive of an experience. They create a more immersive sound than traditional wireless speakers through computational audio and (in the Era 300’s case) using upward-firing drivers, but they can’t adjust the sound based on your movements (which Apple’s headphones can do).

This is why when it comes to speakers, the best way to experience Dolby Atmos and Spatial Audio is through a surround sound system. It positions you in the middle (and not moving) with multiple speakers playing audio all around you. It’s the closest to a headphone experience that speakers can create.