Apple first announced its space audio feature for AirPods Pro last summer, but it wasn’t until AirPods Max released that the surround sound version of Apple came to fruition. If you have a pair of company digital headphones — or a pair of AirPods Pro — you may be wondering: What the hell is space audio and how do you even do it? Don’t ask anymore.
Space audio makes it seem like the audio is coming from all directions and, in our tests, it’s pretty amazing.
To turn it on, put on the AirPods Max or AirPods Pro and open them Bluetooth in Settings. Tap the button “I” next to the name of the headset or headphones in the device list. Active Space audio.
It’s incredibly easy to set up, but the most important problem with Spatial Audio is that only a few models of iPhones and iPads are supported; see the full list below:
- iPhone 7 or later
- Sixth generation or later iPad
- iPad Pro third generation or later
- 4th generation iPad Air or later versions
- iPad mini 5th generation or later
It would be a dream for Apple to add Apple TV compatibility so you can fully immerse yourself in a bigger screen, though unfortunately.
After activating the space audio, the challenge of finding content now appears to take advantage of the feature. Not all streaming services support it (ahem, Netflix), but services like Apple TV + and Disney + do. For details on the show or movie you are interested in watching, look for the 5.1-channel or 7.1-channel Dolby Atmos surround sound. These formats are compatible with space audio and will make what you are watching sound amazing.