With the arrival of Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos in Apple Music earlier this year, the expectation was that the feature would work with a variety of different Apple-branded devices right out of the box. And that’s certainly the case (especially with Lossless audio quality). But it turns out Apple has had to revise the list of supported devices that support the upgraded listening experience from the built-in speakers.
MacRumors was first to point out the change Apple made to its support document regarding Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos. The company is clarifying which devices support the new Apple Music feature via the built-in speakers. While Apple’s initial release had some older-generation iPhone and iPad models listed as supporting the feature, it turns out that’s not the case after all.
Apple says that the iPhone lineup supports Spatial Audio via the built-in speakers in the iPhone XS or later (not including the iPhone SE), both the 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models, and just the fourth-generation iPad Air. As noted in the original report, Apple’s previous version of the support document said the feature also supported the iPhone XR, the sixth- through eighth-generation iPad models, the iPad mini 5, and the iPad Air 3.
Here’s the important bit from the previous version of the support document:
The built-in speakers on an iPhone XR or later (except iPhone SE), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation or later), iPad Pro 11-inch, iPad (6th generation or later), iPad Air (3rd generation or later), or iPad mini (5th generation).
And here’s the updated version:
The built-in speakers on an iPhone XS or later (except iPhone SE), iPad Pro 12.9-inch (3rd generation or later), iPad Pro 11-inch, or iPad Air (4th generation).
It’s certainly a noteworthy change, especially for folks who specifically use the built-in speakers in these devices to use the updated listening experience.