Apple’s personalized spatial audio trick is really a Sony idea

Image: Apple

During Apple's event on Wednesday, personalized spatial audio was again highlighted, as one of the new features of the new version of the operating system. You will be able to create a custom sound profile once you install the latest version of the software on your phone.

Apple uses the TrueDepth camera on the iPhone to take a picture of your ears. The process, which requires you to hold your phone to the side of your head, takes under a minute, and the data is used to improve spatial audio for your ear shape. Mary-Ann Rau said during the keynote that sound perception is based on size and shape of the head and ears. It is possible to place sounds in space that are tailored just for you.

Apple isn't the first company to do this. Supported music services include Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer, and Nug's.net. Both Sony and Apple are trying to figure out your ear structure and adjust spatial audio processing to account for the different folds and shapes of your ears. The goal is to keep that 3D audio experience and eliminate any audio quirks that make it less pleasurable.

Here is how Sony explained the benefits to me in June.

Humans are able to recognize spatial sound sources by the subtle shifts in the intensity and time of sound entering the left and right ears from the sound source. Plus, the sound may depend on our head and ear shape. So, by analyzing and reproducing the characteristics of both ears by taking pictures of the ears, this technology enables reproduction of the sound field while using headphones.

Sony's approach is a little more awkward than Apple's. The technique can be found in the settings of the iPad. To create a personalized sound field with Sony products, you have to take a photo of each ear with your phone and Headphones connect app.

Sony holds on to these images for another 30 days so they can be used for internal research and feature improvements. During this window, the ear pics are not associated with you.

That doesn't mean that Apple has nailed the ear- scanning procedure. Some people have said that the process can feel tedious and sometimes fails to detect an ear. There is no easy way to pull this off while also getting a good read of your ear shape.

The consensus seems to be that these personalized profiles can improve our perception of spatial audio. The TrueDepth camera takes a depth map of your head and ear in the same way that Face ID learns your facial features.

Once you have created a spatial audio profile from an Apple device, it will be sync across your other Apple devices to maintain a consistent experience. You will need upcoming updates to the two operating systems for the sync to work. The third generation of the AirPods, both generations of the AirPods Pro, and the AirPods Max will support personalized spatial audio.

Apple has never claimed to have pulled off any firsts. Even if other companies were already pushing in that direction, the company's executives still want to come up with the best execution of meaningful features.