iOS 18: A mysterious new audio feature is reportedly coming to Apple Music
The iOS 18 update might come with an Apple Music release related to the existing Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos feature.
According to AppleInsider, the tech giant is planning to introduce something called "Passthrough" for its music app. The details are unclear, but it's said to be related to spatial audio, an immersive type of audio mixing that plays music so that it sounds like it's coming from all around you, whether it's through headphones (AirPods or Beats), speakers, Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Vision Pro).
What’s in store for audio features at WWDC?
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is expected to focus on bringing on-device AI to the iPhone via the iOS 18 update — and Passthrough is one of the few audio features rumored to be announced. Another includes "smart" cross-fade transitions between songs on the Apple Music app.
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AppleInsider, which was tipped off by people familiar with Apple's operating systems, says Passthrough may simply be a rebrand of Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos, which doesn't quite roll off the tongue. It might also be directly supported within Apple Music, meaning it would be available to all Music subscribers (instead of only those with compatible hardware).
With AirPods, the technology works with head-tracking to deliver immersive audio by matching it to different speakers depending on where you are and which Apple devices you're synced to.
A big question remains about whether there could be an update to VisionOS, Apple Vision Pro's operating system, since it already has Spatial Audio and something called Spatial Video, which provides 3D immersive experiences from videos recorded on an iPhone 15 Pro.
WWDC is on June 10, which is merely weeks away, so we won't have to wait long to get answers.
Cecily is a tech reporter at Mashable who covers AI, Apple, and emerging tech trends. Before getting her master's degree at Columbia Journalism School, she spent several years working with startups and social impact businesses for Unreasonable Group and B Lab. Before that, she co-founded a startup consulting business for emerging entrepreneurial hubs in South America, Europe, and Asia. You can find her on X at @cecily_mauran.
