During the inaugural keynote of WWDC 2020, the company presented its main innovations at the software level. We learned about the future versions of their operating systems, but also what the next version of the AirPods firmware will bring us. And that's where they drew attention. AirPods Pro and its Spatial AudioBut what exactly does it mean and why is it so important? We see it.
AirPods and its software improvements
The AirPods have managed to position themselves as a benchmark in audio issues. What's more, we could say that they have almost created a kind of new category within the world of headphones. And they are not the ones that sound the best, at least the non-Pro models. But as usually happens, the user experience and the options at the software level seem to agree with why they are so worth it.
Still, when it seemed that any possible further improvement would depend on a hardware update, Apple goes and surprises with a simple software upgrade 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, AirPods will now be more intelligent and proactive when it comes to connecting to each device where we have configured them thanks to the automatic.
This improvement in integration is very easy to explain. AirPods will be able to anticipate your needs and if, for example, you are watching a movie and they call you on your iPhone, 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 watching 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 you having to do or force anything.
As you can already guess, even more so if you own AirPods, the improvement is interesting in terms of comfort. Although what will really 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?
AirPods Pro will offer a new feature called as Spatial Audio, this is neither more nor less than support for 360 audio or spatial sound. That is, the ability to enjoy a immersive experience that will simulate 5.1 or even 7.1 systems just with your headphones.
To achieve this, some advanced algorithms that modify the frequencies based on the data collected by both the gyroscope and accelerometer integrated into the headphones. Therefore, in theory, this option can be enjoyed with any company device 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, once again, adjust where each sound is being emitted from to always keep you 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 some data to learn and, most importantly, to be able to test the experience, the truth is that the qualitative leap that AirPods Pro will give 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, now you may have an additional reason to get some AirPods Pro. Of course, remember, to enjoy this spatial sound the content must have been recorded in 5.1, 7.1 or Dolby Atmos.