Is the Apple Vision Pro a bad fit for Dolby Atmos?

The Apple Vision Pro marks a significant leap forward in the realm of spatial computing, merging cutting-edge virtual reality with the immersive audio capabilities of Dolby Atmos. As Apple’s latest foray into wearable technology, the Vision Pro is designed not just to alter how we consume entertainment—movies, music, and VR experiences—but also to integrate seamlessly with Apple’s ecosystem of devices including iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

This integration aims to leverage Dolby Atmos to create a three-dimensional audio landscape that enhances the spatial audio and sound quality, providing a rich, enveloping experience.

However, the deployment of Dolby Atmos within this new product raises questions about its suitability for all forms of media, particularly when considering the nuances of audio delivery in virtual environments.

Experiencing Dolby Atmos on Apple Vision Pro

Accessing Dolby Atmos Music

The Apple Vision Pro allows users to immerse themselves in Dolby Atmos-enhanced tracks available on Apple Music. These tracks, which provide a rich, three-dimensional soundscape, vary and are identifiable by the Dolby Atmos badge that appears both on the album and the app during playback, ensuring users are aware they’re experiencing the highest quality spatial audio.

Setting Up Dolby Atmos

To optimize the listening experience, users should adjust their settings specifically for Dolby Atmos.

This can be done by navigating to Settings > Apps > Music > Dolby Atmos on the device, where options such as “Automatic” play or “Always On” are available. The “Automatic” setting plays Atmos content over the built-in speakers or through Apple-certified headphones when 3D Audio is active, whereas “Always On” attempts to deliver Atmos sound through any connected headphones.

Customizing Audio Experience

Managing 3D Audio and Head Tracking

Apple Vision Pro offers personalized audio settings that cater to user preferences and situations. The control for 3D audio and head tracking can be found in the Control Center, allowing users to choose how audio and data is rendered relative to their movements—a crucial feature for maintaining the integrity of the spatial audio illusion.

Downloading Dolby Atmos Tracks

For continuous access to high-quality audio, users can adjust their settings to automatically download tracks in Dolby Atmos format. This ensures that the enhanced audio quality is available offline and on-the-go, providing a consistently immersive listening experience regardless of internet connectivity.

Settings can be adjusted under Settings > Apps > Music, with the option to “Download in Dolby Atmos” ensuring all future downloads meet this standard.

Voice-Over Limitations

The Diegetic vs. Non-Diegetic Audio Problem

One of the core limitations of Dolby Atmos in the Apple Vision Pro lies in its handling of diegetic (in-world sounds) and non-diegetic (external narrative elements like voice-overs or music) audio, especially when combined with head-tracking.

In films, Dolby Atmos excels at spatializing diegetic sounds—such as footsteps, explosions, or dialogue within a scene—creating a highly immersive environment. However, non-diegetic elements in cinema like voice-overs or background music present a challenge when head-tracking is involved.

With head-tracking active, the “center” of the audio (where voice-overs are usually positioned) can shift as the listener moves their head. This causes non-diegetic sounds to lose their fixed reference point, making it feel as though the narrator or singer is moving around the room or listener rather than maintaining a consistent presence.

In films, this issue is often less noticeable, as voice-overs are rarer and non-diegetic elements tend to blend with the cinematic soundscape. However, in formats that rely heavily on non-diegetic content—like music or podcasts—this becomes a more glaring problem.

Impact on Music and Podcasts

In music, the use of Dolby Atmos with head-tracking is debatable.

While some users might enjoy the feeling of the music playing and adjusting to their movements, others might find it disruptive. Head-tracked music in Dolby Atmos can cause instruments or vocals that are normally mixed in the center (like a lead singer’s voice) to shift position based on the listener’s head movements. This can lead to a disjointed listening experience, particularly for songs where vocal clarity and focus are key.

For podcasts, however, this lack of head-locked stereo is a serious issue. Podcasts are typically non-diegetic, with narrators or speakers providing a steady, centered audio feed that helps guide the listener through the content. When using Dolby Atmos with head-tracking, the voice of the narrator can seem to drift as the listener moves, making it difficult to maintain focus.

This creates a disorienting and unnatural experience, where the perspective of the narrative “anchor” is constantly shifting. In podcasting, where clarity and stability of the voice-over are essential, this becomes a significant dealbreaker and undermines the immersive potential that spatial audio promises.

Questioning the Utility of Apple Vision Pro for Music

Is the Apple Vision Pro Necessary for Music?

When it comes to using new products such the Apple Vision Pro for music, a critical question arises: Why invest in a device primarily designed for spatial computing and virtual reality when similar audio experiences can be achieved with more affordable and specialized options, like AirPods or AirPods Max?

The Apple Vision Pro undoubtedly offers a unique blend of audiovisual features, but its utility as a music device is debatable. With AirPods Pro and AirPods Max already offering exceptional spatial audio and Dolby Atmos support—paired with seamless integration across Apple devices—it’s hard to justify using the Vision Pro solely for music playback.

Comparing to the Airpods, Mac and iphone Family

Both AirPods Pro and AirPods Max already provide high-quality spatial audio experiences through head tracking and Dolby Atmos without requiring a screen-bound, head-mounted device. These headphones offer a more comfortable and intuitive way to enjoy immersive sound, especially for music, while also supporting features like noise cancellation and transparency mode.

Moreover, AirPods Max delivers a premium audio experience without the bulky presence of a visual component, which is more practical for music and movie lovers who prioritize sound quality over visual immersion. Given that AirPods are likely to be used alongside the Vision Pro for other tasks, the need for using Vision Pro as a primary music device diminishes further.

In essence, unless the user is seeking a comprehensive audiovisual experience, the Apple Vision Pro seems like overkill for basic music and video consumption, especially when AirPods Pro and Max already excel in delivering top-tier sound quality.

Technical Shortcomings in Dolby Atmos

RealityKit Integration and Performance Challenges

While RealityKit is a powerful framework for creating immersive AR and VR experiences, its integration with Dolby Atmos on the Apple Vision Pro presents certain challenges. RealityKit is capable of handling objects, beds, and channels in a dynamic 3D space, yet Dolby Atmos struggles with precise channel management, particularly when non-diegetic audio like voice-overs or music is involved.

This discrepancy in handling spatial audio elements affects the overall performance of the Apple Vision Pro, limiting its potential to fully leverage RealityKit’s spatial capabilities. The inability of Dolby Atmos to deliver head-locked stereo for non-diegetic content is a significant drawback, especially when considering content that demands precise audio positioning.

Absence of 6DoF and Its Implications

Another significant limitation of Dolby Atmos in the Apple Vision Pro is the lack of 6DoF (Six Degrees of Freedom) support, which restricts the depth of spatial interaction. In immersive environments, 6DoF allows users to move freely in space—up, down, forward, backward, and side to side—while the sound adjusts dynamically to their position.

Dolby Atmos, however, is limited to more static forms of spatial audio, where sounds move around the listener but do not change based on their physical movement in a 3D space.

This absence of 6DoF limits the potential for truly immersive VR and AR experiences, where users expect audio to be responsive to their motion within the environment. Without 6DoF, the spatial audio feels less personally interactive, diminishing the immersive potential of Apple Vision Pro.

Ray Tracing and Dolby Atmos

Additionally, there’s ongoing debate about whether Dolby Atmos can effectively support advanced rendering technologies like ray tracing for audio. Ray tracing, primarily known in the graphics world, can also be applied to sound to simulate how audio waves bounce off surfaces, creating a more realistic sense of space. However, Dolby Atmos does not currently utilize ray tracing for its audio rendering, limiting its capacity to create highly detailed and interactive sound environments.

The absence of ray tracing in Dolby Atmos further underscores its technical shortcomings over a decade on, especially in a device like the Apple Vision Pro, which aims to push the boundaries of spatial computing. This limitation restricts how realistic and responsive the audio environment can feel, particularly in complex virtual and augmented reality scenarios.

Alternatives and Solutions for Apple Vision Pro Dolby Atmos

Given the limitations of Dolby Atmos on the Apple Vision Pro, it’s worth exploring alternative spatial audio solutions that may provide a better fit for immersive experiences. Technologies like G-Audio Works and MPEG-I offer advanced spatial audio capabilities that address many of the shortcomings in Dolby Atmos, such as the absence of head-locked stereo and 6DoF support.

Both G-Audio Works and MPEG-I allow for more precise audio positioning and dynamic interaction within virtual and augmented spaces, making them strong contenders for enhancing the immersive potential of cameras in the Apple Vision Pro.

Watch the summary here:

Conclusion for the headest

In summary, while Dolby Atmos offers a powerful tool for spatial audio in many contexts, its integration with the Apple Vision Pro reveals some significant limitations, particularly when it comes to non-diegetic audio, head-locked stereo, and 6DoF support. These issues undermine its effectiveness for certain applications, such as immersive music and podcast experiences.

If you’re interested in learning more about these alternatives or need tailored recommendations for spatial audio solutions, feel free to reach out—I’d be happy to listen and offer my opinion and guidance based on your specific needs.