Apple users: Your Netflix sessions are about to get way more immersive thanks to spatial audio

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If you’ve been loving Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos on your iOS devices, wait until it turns up on your Netflix app. Yes, Spatial Audio is coming to Netflix on iOS devices, as confirmed by 9to5Mac.

That means that watching movies on Netflix while wearing AirPods Pro or AirPods Max is about to become more immersive for the watcher. You’ll also need your iOS or iPadOS device to be on version 14 or above.

If you’re on iOS 15, you might also see the Spatialize Stereo feature in your device’s settings. That feature does audio processing on stereo audio streams to virtualize them into surround. It won’t quite sound as good as the content that was recorded in Dolby Atmos, but it’ll be a better approximation of being sat between speakers instead of earbuds.

If you need a primer on Spatial Audio, know that it’s a way to create more immersive audio experiences that feel like you’re in a room with multiple speakers. It also reproduces a thing called binaural audio, which is recorded by two microphones with the same separation between them of your ears.

That has the effect of making the audio recorded in this way sound like you’re the one doing the recording and sounds more ‘natural’ when played back. Apple’s version of the tech also uses the gyroscopes inside your AirPods Pro or Max to ‘fix’ the sound in 3D space as you move your head around.

If you’ve got AirPods Pro or AirPods Max, head into the Settings app on your device and tap on Bluetooth. Find your AirPods Pro or Max in the list, tap on the Info button, then turn Spatial Audio on.

Don’t worry if you can’t see the feature available on Netflix just yet. It’s slowly rolling out to all subscribers, so it’s only a matter of time before it shows up on your device.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.