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AirPods Max Spatial Audio on MacBook M1?

Apart from the head tracking feature, will AirPods Max sound exactly the same from a MacBook M1 and from an iPad Pro?


On the iPad, you can turn Spatial Audio on and off, and hear the clear difference. There is no such setting on the MacBook, and yet it sounds close to the iPad Pro with Spatial Audio turned on. Tested on Mad Max: Fury Road which supports Dolby ATMOS.


I haven't seen where Apple has clearly explained this issue.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.1

Posted on Dec 30, 2020 4:58 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 30, 2020 7:52 PM

Spacial audio only works with certain devices as listed here: https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT211775. For spacial audio to work it requires features such as a gyroscopes and accelerometers to track the MacBooks position and orientation. Unfortunately the M1 MacBooks do not have such a feature.

4 replies

Jan 11, 2021 5:56 PM in response to alex_matula

So, apart from the head turning aspect, will M1 Macs support the following, and just assume you are looking directly at the MacBook?


"Apple spatial audio takes 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos signals and applies directional audio filters, adjusting the frequencies that each ear hears so that sounds can be placed virtually anywhere in 3D space. Sounds will appear to be coming from in front of you, from the sides, the rear and even above. The idea is to recreate the audio experience of a cinema.

Jan 11, 2021 5:57 PM in response to alex_matula

So, apart from the head turning aspect, will M1 Macs support the following, and just assume you are looking directly at the MacBook?


"Apple spatial audio takes 5.1, 7.1 and Dolby Atmos signals and applies directional audio filters, adjusting the frequencies that each ear hears so that sounds can be placed virtually anywhere in 3D space. Sounds will appear to be coming from in front of you, from the sides, the rear and even above. The idea is to recreate the audio experience of a cinema.

AirPods Max Spatial Audio on MacBook M1?

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