More than half of Apple Music users listen to Spatial Audio. Do people love it that much? Or is it just because it’s hard to turn off?
YouTube spatial audio test demo
Spatial Audio for music may have seemed like a gimmick, but it quickly proved to be a great way to enjoy big sound from small speakers. The new MacBook Pros sound particularly impressive, and make the case for listening to music with Apple’s surround-sound processing turned on permanently. So it’s kind of no surprise to learn that, according to Apple VP of Apple Music and Beats Oliver Schusser, more than half of Apple Music subscribers listen to Spatial Audio. Is it really that popular?
"Of course [those] defaults affect the percentage of users, but Spatial audio brings something that regular stereo doesn't. If there's a way to make music more immersive, why not use it?" Nuno Fonseca, PhD, CEO of 3D audio company Sound Particles, told Lifewire via email.
If you’re listening to Apple Music through a pair of AirPods Pro or Max, AirPods 3, or supported Beats headphones, any song available in Spatial Audio will play that way. That’s the default setting, which means there are undoubtedly millions of subscribers using Spatial Audio without even knowing it.
