Apple Music gaining improvement upgrades


Apple announced Monday that Apple Music will be getting an upgrade in June. New features bring Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos and lossless audio for music. Apple says the features will be available for no additional cost to subscribers.

Apple's Special Audio with support for Dolby Atmos promises a more immersive experience for select audio tracks. Atmos is popular in movies using multiple speakers. Apple has gained the certification using its audio gear. Apple says the feature is compatible with devices with headphones/earbuds using an H1 or W1 chip, in addition to built-in speakers on newer iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

Lossless audio features audio without compression. For attuned ears, the audio fidelity can meet or exceed uncompressed CD quality. Apple says lossless encoding ranges up to 24 bit at 192 kHz. Apple appears to be buying the details that the lossless audio features will not be available in Bluetooth headphones. This includes AirPods and even the top-end AirPods Max. Wireless devices use the AAC codec, which compresses audio enough for Bluetooth bandwidth. The lossless audio appears to be geared towards higher-end audio enthusiasts playing music to wired devices.