During the inaugural keynote of WWDC 2020 the company presented its main innovations at the software level. We know the future versions of their operating systems, but also what the next version of the AirPods firmware will bring us. And that’s where the AirPods Pro and its Spatial Audio caught the eye, but what exactly does it mean and why is it so important. We see it.
AirPods and their software enhancements
The AirPods have managed to position themselves as a benchmark in audio matters. What’s more, we could say that they have almost created a kind of new category within the world of headphones. And that’s not the best sounding, at least not the Pro models. But as usual, the experience of use and the options at the software level seem to give you the reason why they are so worth it.
Still, when it seemed that any possible additional improvement would depend on a hardware update, Apple goes and surprises with a simple software update that will improve integration with the rest of the company’s products in all models and the hearing capabilities of the pro model. .
Starting with the improvement that will affect all models, the AirPods will now be more intelligent and proactive in connecting to each device where we have configured them thanks to the automatic change .
This improvement in integration is very easy to explain. AirPods are going to be able to anticipate your needs and if, for example, you are watching a movie and they call your iPhone on the phone, they will know that you are interested in using them to talk through them. So they automatically disconnect and connect to the iPhone. Once the call ends, they return to the other device so that you can continue seeing or listening to what you were playing. They will also be able to detect when you leave the iPhone on the table and pick up the iPad, jumping from one to the other without having to do or force anything.
As you can already guess, even more if you own AirPods, the improvement is interesting in terms of comfort. Although what is really going to interest you is how the AirPods Pro will improve thanks to the new feature that they have called Spatial Audio.
AirPods Pro and Spatial Audio, what is it?
The AirPods Pro will offer a new feature called Spatial Audio, this is neither more nor less than support for 360 audio or spatial sound. That is, the ability to enjoy an immersive experience that will simulate 5.1 or even 7.1 systems simply with your headphones.
To achieve this, advanced algorithms will be used that modify the frequencies from the data collected by both the gyroscope and accelerometer integrated in the headphones. So in theory you can enjoy this option with any device of the company compatible with said content when playing it.
Although with the use of the iPhone and iPad the experience could be even better, since thanks to these devices the position of the same would also be detected to, again, adjust from where each sound is being emitted to always stay in the center of the experience . That is, what comes from the front, from the front and the same for the sides and rear.
As you can see, although there would still be data to know and most importantly, to be able to test the experience, the truth is that the qualitative leap that the AirPods Pro will take with this new firmware is very interesting and adds great value. If you are a lover of good sound and you are looking for a differential experience, you may now have an additional reason to get AirPods Pro. Of course, remember, to enjoy this spatial sound the content must have been recorded in 5.1, 7.1 or Dolby Atmos.
