Apple Music sets ‘special’ Spatial Audio event later tonight

Apple will be holding not just its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) tonight but also a special event focused on Spatial Audio for June 7 at 12:30 am PT (June 8, 12:30 am IST). Not much is known about the event, but Apple is likely to roll out Apple Music spatial audio feature right after the WWDC keynote event gets over.

Last month, Apple announced it would launch a new, higher-quality Apple Music tier for its subscribers at no  extra cost. The new option will support Spatial Audio alongside lossless high-fidelity music streaming. Apple has said that the update will arrive in June and the entire Apple Music catalogue will be available at lossless quality.

Consumers will also able to access Spatial Audio, which is designed to offer cinema-like sound quality that surrounds you and make it seem like the sound is coming from all around you, which lets artists create songs in Dolby Atmos. The Spatial Audio feature will be supported on all AirPods and Beats headphones with an H1 or W1 chip, as well as the built-in speakers in the latest versions of iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Hi-Resolution lossless audio support is also coming to Apple Music. Apple Music’s Lossless tier starts at CD quality, which is 16 bit at 44.1 kHz, and goes up to 24 bit at 48 kHz and is playable natively on Apple devices. Apple Music will also offer Hi-Resolution Lossless at 24-bit/192kHz —  but the company made it clear that the latter is for “the true audiophile” and requires extra hardware — like an external USB DAC (digital-to-analog converter)

Apple has already confirmed that both the HomePod and HomePod Mini will support lossless audio after a future software update. Neither AirPods, AirPods Pro nor AirPods Max will work with the lossless streaming in Apple Music.

New Beats Studio Buds could be launched today

Although there is no update on when Apple introduces AirPods 3, the company could announce Beats Studio Buds sooner than expected. In fact, they could be launched later tonight at Apple Music’s special event. Rumours of Beats, Apple’s other headphone brand, working on high-end truly wireless earbuds for a while now. The earbuds, based on leaked images, will look closer to the AirPods Pro than previous-generation Beats earbuds, with silicone ear tips and a no-stem design. In recent days, the upcoming Beats Studio Buds have been spotted by many celebrities including LeBron James.