Spatial audio not active

My spatial audio is enabled but not showing as active when I listen to Atmos songs in Apple Music. I have it enabled and it works for video but not for songs. Can’t figure why?

Posted on Jun 8, 2021 7:12 AM

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Posted on Jun 11, 2021 8:04 PM

I think I understand this now. Here goes. In iOS 14.6, if you play a video, it uses spatial audio with dynamic head tracking. This is where you get the feeling that the audio source moves as you move your head. The spatial audio symbol is animated. However, right now, dynamic head tracking is not available on audio till iOS15. So it will never animate. But, if you see Dolby Atmos in Apple Music, you are getting Dolby Atmos (or as Apple confusingly calls it, Spatial Audio). The Spatial Audio button is not really doing anything. What matters is if you have Dolby Atmos turned on. The Spatial Audio button is only ever animated if you are getting dynamic head tracking (which you won’t till iOS15 on audio). So, in summary, if Dolby Atmos is on, and you see it in Apple Music, you are getting Dolby Atmos (or Spatial Audio as Apple calls it). If your Spatial Audio button is on, you are telling the device that if a track has dynamic head tracking, you want it played that way and if the track has it, you will see that button animate. That button should have been called Dynamic Head Tracking in my opinion.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 11, 2021 8:04 PM in response to starlight2019

I think I understand this now. Here goes. In iOS 14.6, if you play a video, it uses spatial audio with dynamic head tracking. This is where you get the feeling that the audio source moves as you move your head. The spatial audio symbol is animated. However, right now, dynamic head tracking is not available on audio till iOS15. So it will never animate. But, if you see Dolby Atmos in Apple Music, you are getting Dolby Atmos (or as Apple confusingly calls it, Spatial Audio). The Spatial Audio button is not really doing anything. What matters is if you have Dolby Atmos turned on. The Spatial Audio button is only ever animated if you are getting dynamic head tracking (which you won’t till iOS15 on audio). So, in summary, if Dolby Atmos is on, and you see it in Apple Music, you are getting Dolby Atmos (or Spatial Audio as Apple calls it). If your Spatial Audio button is on, you are telling the device that if a track has dynamic head tracking, you want it played that way and if the track has it, you will see that button animate. That button should have been called Dynamic Head Tracking in my opinion.

Jun 9, 2021 9:07 AM in response to DanielleM182

I have followed all steps. On both my IPad Pro and IPhone SE. On video content in Apple Music, the spatial audio symbol in control center is always animated. On audio content (Dolby Atmos labeled), it is not. I can manage to get it animated on audio if I go to Bluetooth on my AirPod Pro, click “see &hear how it works”, click not now, then slide spatial audio back to on, then go back to the song and hit play. Then, sometimes, the spatial audio starts animating. But not always. And, if I stop the song and do something else and the. Restart the song, same thing….not animating. Does the same on both devices with the same AirPod Pro’s.

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Spatial audio not active

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