With the release of iOS 15 earlier this week, Apple brought, as it had announced during WWDC 2021, Dynamic head tracking. This is the main differential of "Spatial Audio", an Apple solution to bring greater immersion to users when playing music (Apple Music) and videos. Now, when using AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, there will be a virtual fixation of the audio source (device screen in this case), giving a greater sensation of width, height and depth during the presentation of the sounds, in addition to a more defined positioning of the instruments.
With the dynamic head tracking done by Audio Spatial from Apple, a virtual space is created where the listener's head is in the center and the screen is just in front of the eyes, applying directional audio filters when there is movement of the head to the sides or up.
How does Dynamic head tracking work?
By moving the head, the listener will notice that the sounds will change with the movement, becoming clearer on one side than the other, in addition to changing the position of instruments and voices. That way, the user has a more realistic impression that the sound is actually coming out of the iPhone or iPad screen, whether the neck is turned to the side or not.
Which headphones support Spatial Audio with Dynamic head tracking?
According to Apple, only AirPods Pro and AirPods Max support Spatial Audio with Dynamic head tracking. However, the other AirPods and Beats headphones automatically support Dolby Atmos. To learn more about the differences between Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos, visit our article here.
