Malcolm Owen
The Spatial Audio feature of Apple Music is expanding beyond earphones, with Mercedes-Benz adding support for it to the car manufacturer's infotainment system.
The partnership, announced on Sunday, has Mercedes-Benz adding Spatial Audio with support for Dolby Atmos as a native experience to its infotainment systems. Rather than relying on motion-tracking hardware in headphones like AirPods Max, it instead uses the speaker system installed into the vehicle.
It is available as part of the MBUX infotainment system in Mercedes-Maybach models, the EQS and EQS SUV, and the EQE and S-Class vehicles.
The first vehicle to offer the feature to owners is the limited edition Mercedes-Maybach by Virgil Abloh, which shipped in September. It uses a Burmester high-end 4D sound system which includes 31 speakers, with six 3D speakers playing from above, four near-ear speakers in the front seats, eight sound transducers in the seats, two amplifiers, an 18.5-liter subwoofer, and 1,750 watts of power.
Spatial Audio will be rolled out to other models "soon," according to Apple.
To use the feature, drivers also have to subscribe to Apple Music, which includes a growing catalog of Spatial Audio tracks. Apple Music also includes curated Spatial Audio playlists, including Driving in Spatial Audio.
"Sound quality is incredibly important to Apple Music, which is why we are so excited to be working with Mercedes-Benz to make Spatial Audio on Apple Music available natively in the car for the first time," said Oliver Schusser, Apple's vice president of Apple Music and Beats. "Spatial Audio is revolutionizing the way artists create and fans listen to music, and it's an experience that is impossible to explain in words; you have to hear it for yourself to appreciate it."
Mercedes-Benz Group AG's chief technology officer Markus Schafer calls the addition "a benchmark music experience unparalleled in the industry." Proud to be selling the first non-Apple product to support Spatial Audio, Schafer claims "This seamless experience shows how in-car entertainment can reach exciting new levels by perfectly integrating hardware and software."
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16 Comments
Was in Europe during last big Apple presentation. Normally would watch it live at home on AppleTV. So watched it on my iPad with AirPods Pro. Was shocked at the audio quality. I literally asked my wife if the iPad speakers were on instead of my Pods, because the audio sounded as though it were in front of me, not in my ears. Spatial audio is amazing! Where else can I experience this?
These infotainment systems are very expensive. I suspect spatial audio is for the people in the back seat, not the chauffeur.
I don’t know who wants audio manipulation that is nothing but a gimmick like the various surround sound modes (stadium, game, orchestra, etc). Hopefully they will not take away the audio option of listening to music as the artist intended it to be heard.
Of course even a modest (sub-$1000) system can easily outperform any car stereo, no matter the cost if the goal accurate reproduction.
If it’s not upgradable to current vehicles with Apple Music for those that already have a Mercedes what’s the point offering this article? It’s not like everyone can afford a MB EQS. From what I’ve seen they start at $110K. Not everyone that enjoys Apple products can afford a $100k plus car. Not everyone is so fortunate.