Apple Music activates Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio content

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited June 2021
As promised, Apple late Monday flipped the switch on Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio content on Apple Music, with some users reporting the technology is now live for select tracks and albums.

Spatial Audio
Source: The Verge


Mentioned in passing during the Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, Apple Music was scheduled to enable both Spatial Audio and Lossless Audio today. Subscribers are now reporting that the service is now live, though support has not rolled out to all users.

Once the new technologies are ready in a given area, users can find the appropriate audio settings in the iOS Settings app under Music, according to accounts of the process posted to social media networks.

When enabled, a new "Dolby Atmos" option will appear under "Audio" and will allow users to switch between automatic, always on, and off.

"Automatic will play in Dolby Atmos and other Dolby Audio formats whenever connected to capable outputs like AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max (when spatial audio is turned on), and supported Beats headphones or Apple devices," the setting description reads.

A separate setting for "Audio Quality" enables Lossless Audio and controls streaming quality over cellular and Wi-Fi. Users can also elect to download lossless tracks to their device.

With Dolby Atmos activated in Settings, users will be able to play back Spatial Audio content in Apple Music. Apple earlier today said "thousands" of tracks support the feature, which is denoted by a special Dolby Atmos icon. Apple Music is also featuring special Spatial Audio playlists that gather songs, hits and albums in one location.

Spatial Audio is built using Dolby Atmos technology and enables listeners to hear music in a simulated 3D audio space, with dynamic head tracking due to arrive later this year.

Lossless Audio is not compatible with Apple headphones and will only benefit audiophiles who have a dedicated DAC in their system. HomePod and HomePod mini, which currently use AAC, will one day support lossless on Apple Music, though a firm launch date has yet to be announced.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    winstoner71winstoner71 Posts: 114member
    Live on my phone. I might cry. Never thought I’d see the day. Goodbye to the 3 apps I use because of their lossless features. 
    gregoriusmjahblade
  • Reply 2 of 15
    bfranksbfranks Posts: 22member
    Not seeing it in the UK yet :-(
  • Reply 3 of 15
    Spatial audio guide just popped up on music in U.K. after I rebooted my phone.  I can see all the lovely albums and playlists but can’t actually play them as don’t have the option to toggle in settings!

     There’s a surprising amount of content too!

     Seems a stupid way to do it - very un-Apple!  Here’s some great new feature.  We’ll show you a video on how to access it but won’t actually let you access it!
  • Reply 4 of 15
    I almost canceled Apple Music subscription last year because of the lack of lossless.
    Now the only inconvenience I can see now is that you cannot re-download the songs which have previously been downloaded in 256kbps AAC format. You have to remove the album from your library and then re-add it. Apple was lazy here and cut corners.
    edited June 2021
  • Reply 5 of 15
    NiallivmNiallivm Posts: 10member
    I almost canceled Apple Music subscription last year because of the lack of lossless.
    Now the only inconvenience I can see now is that you cannot re-download the songs which have previously been downloaded in 256kbps AAC format. You have to remove the album from your library and then re-add it. Apple was lazy here and cut corners.
    Just out of interest, how else do you expect content downloaded to your personal device to be updated? 
    winstoner71jahbladeauxiojony0
  • Reply 6 of 15
    Just checked in settings > music > audio quality > WiFi streaming > 

  • Reply 7 of 15
    chakichaki Posts: 1member
    At least on Mac, it’s not really lossless. It still gets converted to what ever sample rate you set on Audio MIDI setup. 
    Can’t believe Apple did not fix this, and calling it lossless. 
  • Reply 8 of 15
    AppleZuluAppleZulu Posts: 1,989member
    It’s up and functioning. Apple TV connected to an Atmos-capable system decodes it into true Atmos surround. iPhone plays surround on AirPods Pro. 

    The quick Mono to Stereo to Spatial demo in the Made for Spatial playlist is a good starting point if you’re not sure what this is all about. 
    dewmeScot1jahbladelolliver
  • Reply 9 of 15
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    AppleZulu said:
    It’s up and functioning. Apple TV connected to an Atmos-capable system decodes it into true Atmos surround. iPhone plays surround on AirPods Pro. 

    The quick Mono to Stereo to Spatial demo in the Made for Spatial playlist is a good starting point if you’re not sure what this is all about. 
    It's really unfortunate the Apple TV doesn't support Hi-Res Lossless.
    Scot1mobirdjahblade
  • Reply 10 of 15
    winstoner71winstoner71 Posts: 114member
    Niallivm said:
    I almost canceled Apple Music subscription last year because of the lack of lossless.
    Now the only inconvenience I can see now is that you cannot re-download the songs which have previously been downloaded in 256kbps AAC format. You have to remove the album from your library and then re-add it. Apple was lazy here and cut corners.
    Just out of interest, how else do you expect content downloaded to your personal device to be updated? 
    Wondering the same thing. 
  • Reply 11 of 15
    mobirdmobird Posts: 752member
    AppleZulu said:
    It’s up and functioning. Apple TV connected to an Atmos-capable system decodes it into true Atmos surround. iPhone plays surround on AirPods Pro. 

    The quick Mono to Stereo to Spatial demo in the Made for Spatial playlist is a good starting point if you’re not sure what this is all about. 
    It's really unfortunate the Apple TV doesn't support Hi-Res Lossless.
    " Music is in our DNA" has left the building...

    Unfortunately.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    winstoner71winstoner71 Posts: 114member
    AppleZulu said:
    It’s up and functioning. Apple TV connected to an Atmos-capable system decodes it into true Atmos surround. iPhone plays surround on AirPods Pro. 

    The quick Mono to Stereo to Spatial demo in the Made for Spatial playlist is a good starting point if you’re not sure what this is all about. 
    It's really unfortunate the Apple TV doesn't support Hi-Res Lossless.
    It’s really unfortunate that you think they aren’t going to address that in an update. “Apple TV 4K does not currently support hi-res lossless”. Keyword: “currently”. They will. For now, you’ll just have to listen to music on your tv (?) and get plain old regular lossless. 
    jahbladelolliver
  • Reply 13 of 15
    boltsfan17boltsfan17 Posts: 2,294member
    AppleZulu said:
    It’s up and functioning. Apple TV connected to an Atmos-capable system decodes it into true Atmos surround. iPhone plays surround on AirPods Pro. 

    The quick Mono to Stereo to Spatial demo in the Made for Spatial playlist is a good starting point if you’re not sure what this is all about. 
    It's really unfortunate the Apple TV doesn't support Hi-Res Lossless.
    It’s really unfortunate that you think they aren’t going to address that in an update. “Apple TV 4K does not currently support hi-res lossless”. Keyword: “currently”. They will. For now, you’ll just have to listen to music on your tv (?) and get plain old regular lossless. 
    I never said they wouldn't support it. My post is about the present, not the future. As of now, it's not supported in the upcoming tvOS 15 update either. I'll just continue to listen to my studio masters collection on my sound system. 
  • Reply 14 of 15
    rezwitsrezwits Posts: 878member
    Waiting for the Sun - The Doors!!!

    Lossless Logo, on Apple 4K+60 with Yamaha 5.1.2

    With Lossless Turned ON!

    Sounds pretty good, versus compressesed!
  • Reply 15 of 15
    Looks like this is region locked. I am not seeing the option for Dolby Vision in my Settings. 
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