Apple Could Bring Spatial Audio To Its Virtual And Augmented Reality Devices

Virtual reality can make users feel like they’re immersed into the virtual world that they’re seeing, but visuals only add to the effect up to a certain extent. To help further create the sense of immersion, audio can also help play a role, and that’s something that Apple is exploring in a patent discovered by AppleInsider.

Basically, it sounds like Apple wants to integrate spatial audio into its potential virtual or augmented reality devices. According to the patent’s description, “For example, a SR system may detect an individual walking a few paces forward and, responsive thereto, adjust graphics and audio presented to the individual in a manner similar to how such scenery and sounds would change in a physical setting.”

For those unfamiliar, spatial audio creates the illusion that sound is coming from different directions. This means that instead of sound coming from the left or right, it can give the impression that sound can be coming from the front, back, and other directions, making it seem more realistic.

This actually makes sense when used with virtual reality systems because like we said, it can help deepen the immersion. However, whether or not it will actually make its debut remains to be seen, so don’t go getting your hopes up just yet.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Apple, Audio, General
Tags: Augmented Reality (AR), Patent, Virtual Reality (VR)