Friday, August 4, 2023 2:01 pmNo Comments

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FlatpanelsHD is reporting an unannounced feature in Apple’s upcoming tvOS 17 operating system for Apple TV 4K. tvOS 17 will allow users to enjoy spatial audio in two pairs of AirPods at the same time when playing content from Apple TV 4K.

Rasmus Larsen for FlatpanelsHD:

Spatial audio on Apple TV 4K, which can take a 5.1, 7.1 or Dolby Atmos source and simulate a dynamic and immersive sound field in headphones, is currently limited to one pair of AirPods at a time. Connecting a second pair in tvOS 16 will make audio fall back to traditional stereo.

FlatpanelsHD has discovered that tvOS 17 will finally add the option to share spatial audio between two compatible pairs of AirPods and Beats, meaning that both pair of headphones deliver the spatial audio experience which is much better than what most built-in TV speakers and soundbars deliver.

Shared spatial audio works with content sources in multichannel 5.1 and 7.1 as well as Dolby Atmos in apps that support spatial audio, including the Apple TV app and Netflix.

MacDailyNews Take: Larsen describes one limitation in the current implementation: When two pairs of AirPods are connected to Apple TV 4K at the same time it is no longer possible to enable dynamic head tracking to keep voices coming from the TV’s location. Only the “Fixed” option is available.

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