Apple is also bringing lossless audio to its entire catalogue for Apple Music subscribers – from June 2021 at no additional cost.
Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos and Lossless Audio are coming to Apple Music subscribers beginning June 2021.
Apple today announced Apple Music is bringing industry-leading sound quality to subscribers with the addition of Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos.
Spatial Audio gives artists the opportunity to create immersive audio experiences for their fans with true multidimensional sound and clarity.
Apple Music subscribers will also be able to listen to more than 75 million songs in Lossless Audio — the way the artists created them in the studio.
These new features will be available for Apple Music subscribers starting next month at no additional cost.
More details below from the press release.
Spatial Audio with Support for Dolby Atmos
Apple is bringing Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos to Apple Music.
Dolby Atmos is a revolutionary, immersive audio experience that enables artists to mix music so the sound comes from all around and from above.
“Apple Music is making its biggest advancement ever in sound quality. Listening to a song in Dolby Atmos is like magic. The music comes from all around you and sounds incredible. Now we are bringing this truly innovative and immersive experience to our listeners with music from their favourite artists like J Balvin, Gustavo Dudamel, Ariana Grande, Maroon 5, Kacey Musgraves, The Weeknd, and so many more. Subscribers will also be able to listen to their music in the highest audio quality with Lossless Audio. Apple Music as we know it is about to change forever,” said Oliver Schusser, Apple’s vice president of Apple Music and Beats.
By default, Apple Music will automatically play Dolby Atmos tracks on all AirPods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip, as well as the built-in speakers in the latest versions of iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Apple Music will be adding new Dolby Atmos tracks constantly and will be curating a special set of Dolby Atmos playlists to help listeners find the music they love.
In addition, albums that are available in Dolby Atmos will have a badge on the detail page for easy discovery.
At launch, subscribers can enjoy thousands of songs in Spatial Audio from some of the world’s biggest artists and music across all genres, including hip-hop, country, Latin, pop, and classical. Apple Music is working with artists and labels to add new releases and the best catalogue tracks, as more artists begin to create music specifically for the Spatial Audio experience.
Together, Apple Music and Dolby are making it easy for musicians, producers, and mix engineers to create songs in Dolby Atmos.
Initiatives include doubling the number of Dolby-enabled studios in major markets, offering educational programmes, and providing resources to independent artists.
Lossless Audio
Apple Music will also make its catalogue of more than 75 million songs available in Lossless Audio. Apple uses ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) to preserve every single bit of the original audio file.
“Today marks the introduction of Dolby Atmos on Apple Music — a new music experience that is transforming how music is created by artists and enjoyed by their fans. We are working with Apple Music to make Dolby Atmos widely available to all musicians and anyone who loves music,” said Kevin Yeaman, Dolby Laboratories’ president and CEO.
This means Apple Music subscribers will be able to hear the exact same thing that the artists created in the studio.
To start listening to Lossless Audio, subscribers using the latest version of Apple Music can turn it on in Settings > Music > Audio Quality.
Here, they can choose different resolutions for different connections such as cellular, Wi-Fi, or for download. Apple Music’s Lossless tier starts at CD quality, which is 16 bit at 44.1 kHz (kilohertz), and goes up to 24 bit at 48 kHz and is playable natively on Apple devices.
For the true audiophile, Apple Music also offers Hi-Resolution Lossless all the way up to 24 bit at 192 kHz.
Won’t the file sizes be huge for the lossless audio? It’s gonna eat up my mobile data! But I’m looking forward to it!
Yes. Due to the large file sizes and bandwidth needed for Lossless and Hi-Res Lossless Audio, subscribers will need to opt in to the experience. Hi-Res Lossless also requires external equipment, such as a USB digital-to-analog converter (DAC).