iOS 16: How to Use Personalized Spatial Audio on iPhone

Apple released iOS 16 for iPhone and iPad a few days ago. While it’s not a huge upgrade, it does come with some cool features. Personalized spatial audio is one such feature associated with AirPods. We’re here to tell you everything about Personalized Spatial Sound from how it works to how it’s used.

Apple has made strides on the audio front over the past few years. When they launched Spatial Audio for Apple Music in 2021, they aimed to deliver a more immersive music experience. It felt like we were sitting next to Ed Sheeran in the studio listening to Shape of You. And without a doubt, the Personalized Spatial Sound has astounded us equally. Continue reading this guide to learn more.

What is Personalized Spatial Sound?

As defined by Apple, Personalized Spatial Audio is technology that provides a three-dimensional audio experience when you move your head.

If you were wondering at the outset what spatial sound is, it’s a listening experience that creates a surround sound effect in your headphones. You’ll hear the notes and sounds from the track in all directions, thus creating a multi-dimensional effect.

Apple claims that the way each person perceives sound is unique and for a more immersive audio experience, and offers customization for spatial sound profiles – and the way it works is quite interesting.

How personalized spatial sound works

Personalized Spatial Sound scans your ears and configures your face on iPhone to optimize audio output based on your unique ear shape. The analysis of your ear structure will adjust the sound based on all the unique folds and contours of your ears.

Once done, the sound will adjust to the right frequency and intensity, and account for changes in the sound profile as it enters your ears. The goal is to make sure you get the best out of spatial acoustics.

However, setting this up is a rather tedious process, and it took us almost three attempts to register the right ear. Finally, when we finished the process, the music experience was like no other. We recommend you try it too. Good thing you can demo before setting up the feature just to be sure.

What you need to use personalized spatial sound

You must have an iPhone with a TrueDepth camera running iOS 16 to set up Personalized Spatial Audio. Once set up, you can access this feature on any of the devices below by signing in to your Apple ID.

• iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 16 or later, iPad with iPadOS 16.1 or later, or Apple Watch with watchOS 9 or later, Apple TV with tvOS 16 or later, or Mac with Apple silicon and macOS Ventura

• Airpods 3rd generation, Airpods Pro, Airpods Pro 2 or Airpods Max.

• Beats Fit Pro is the only other compatible audio device.

How to get a quick demo of personalized spatial sounds on iOS 16

Step 1: Open the Settings app.

Step 2: Select your AirPods.

Step 3: Select ‘See & Hear How It Works..’ in the Spatial Audio section.

Step 4: You will get a demo and comparison between stereo and spatial sound. Click done once you’ve finished listening to the demo.

Now that you’ve experienced the difference, we’re pretty sure you don’t want to go back. Here’s how you can set up Spatial Sound Personalization on your iPhone and AirPods and listen to your favorite tracks.

How to set up personalized spatial sounds on iPhone with AirPods

Step 1: First, connect your AirPods to your iPhone. For that, place the AirPods case near your iPhone with the lid open.

Step 2: Now, press and hold the button on the back of the charging case, as shown on your iPhone.

Step 3: Wait for the AirPods to establish a connection. Once connected, tap Done.

Step 4: Open the Settings app and select the connected AirPods.

Step 5: Select ‘Personalized Spatial Sound’. On the next screen, select ‘Personalize Spatial Sound…’ again.

Step 6: Click Continue to start the scanning process.

Step 7: First, position the front of your face. Follow the instructions to rotate your head and register your profile.

Step 8: Next, take a profile picture of your right ear and follow the instructions to move your head to register the profile. Repeat the same for your left ear profile.

Step 9: After registering, you will receive a confirmation message. Click Done.

As mentioned earlier, we had to try several times to register the ear profile. If you are facing the same problem and getting the error message ‘Cannot set up personalized spatial sound’, don’t worry. We have some tips to help us get it right.

Fix Unable to set up personalized spatial sound

• Scan your face without many objects in the background.
• Remove your glasses or any facial accessories of similar scale.
• Make sure your hair doesn’t get in your ears.
• Place the phone 10-20 cm away from your face.
• When you get the prompt to move your head, do it slowly and gently.

Once done, go ahead and listen to spatial sounds fine-tuned to your ears.

How to get the best spatial audio experience with Apple Music

Apple Music has had Hi-Ress Lossless audio for a year now, and we’re sure the personalized experience will be even better. Here’s how you can listen to music that best matches spatial acoustics. This requires enabling a few options in the settings.

Step 1: Open the Settings app and tap on Music.

Step 2: Select Sound Quality.

Step 3: Turn on the switch for Lossless Audio.

Step 4: On the same screen, tap any of the streaming modes and select Hi-Res Lossless, if not already there.

Note: Listening to Hi-Res Lossless music consumes more data than the High Performance option.

Step 5: Now, open Apple Music.

Step 6: In the search bar, find Spatial Audio. You’ll find a range of playlists tuned to deliver an immersive spatial audio experience.

Step 7: The currently playing song will carry a tag indicating it has lossless spatial audio.

Now that you understand how to enable and use this feature, you probably have some questions regarding its availability and more. For answers, go to the FAQ section.

Apple Personalized Spatial Audio FAQ

1. On what apps can I use personalized spatial sound?

Currently, only a handful of application suites support spatial audio features. Popular apps include Apple Music, Netflix, Apple TV, Hulu, HBO Max, Clubhouse, etc

2. Is personalized spatial sound available on Spotify or YouTube?

No, neither Spotify nor YouTube offers spatial audio as of now. However, we hope the developers are working to take advantage of the Personalized Spatial Sound feature.

3. Can I make calls with personalized spatial sound?

Yes, FaceTime supports calls with personalized spatial audio.

4. How to turn off personalized spatial sounds on iPhone?

On your device, go to Settings > Select Airpods under your name > ‘Personalized Spatial Sounds’ > tap ‘Stop using personalized spatial sounds’.

Enjoy spatial sound tailored to your ears

Here’s everything you need to know about using personalized spatial sounds on iPhone. For best results, we recommend using Apple Music. The way Apple enhances the experience through software updates like this is impressive. AirPods have revolutionized the wireless headphone space, and we can’t wait to see how competitors react to a feature like this.

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