Spatial Audio is a sound feature exclusive to AirPods Pro and AirPods Max that adds surround sound to Apple’s premium audio portable devices. Using dynamic head tracking, it brings a cinema-like audio experience to the movie or video you are watching, so it looks like the sound is coming from all around you.
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The feature works by comparing the data from your iOS device’s gyroscope and accelerometer to the data from your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, ensuring that the sound field stays anchored to the device, even if you move your head.
Not surprisingly, spatial audio is not universally supported by third-party applications and services. To save you from spending time wondering if a particular app works with this feature, we’ve rounded up a list of all the apps that have been officially updated to support Spatial Audio, and some popular apps that have been officially updated to support Spatial Audio below. haven’t added support yet.
Popular apps that support spatial audio
Air Video HD (Enable Surround in audio settings) Apple TV app Disney + FE File Explorer (DTS 5.1 not supported)
Foxtel Go (Australia) HBO Max Hulu Plex (Enable old video player in settings) Peacock Discovery + Paramount + Vudu Some TIDAL songs
Popular apps that don’t support spatial audio
Infuse Netflix YouTube Vimeo VLC Amazon Prime Video
We’ll keep these lists updated as we learn of additional third-party apps and updates that support spatial audio. In the meantime, check the following details to make sure your hardware is compatible with the feature.
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What you need to use Spatial Audio
To enjoy spatial audio on AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, you need iPhone 7 or later or one of the iPad models listed below. Note that spatial audio is not supported by any Mac model or Apple TV model.
12.9-inch iPad Pro (3rd generation) and later iPad Pro 11-inch iPad Air (3rd generation) iPad (6th generation) and later iPad mini (5th generation)
You also need to have iOS 14 or iPadOS 14 or later installed on your device, along with the latest firmware on your AirPods Pro or AirPods Max. To learn more about using spatial audio, see our dedicated how-to article.
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