Last Updated on October 21, 2021 by Asif Iqbal Shaik
Amazon first introduced spatial audio in 2019, but back then, it only worked with a handful of music devices. Now, Amazon has announced that users can listen to spatial music tracks on any of their favourite headphones. According to the company, spatial audio provides a unique multi-dimensional audio experience, adding space, depth, and clarity which cannot be matched by traditional stereo music. It also announced that Amazon Music subscribers get free access to lossless HD and Hi-Res Ultra HD audio tracks. This move comes right after Apple started streaming High-Res audio tracks on Apple Music. Apple also beat Amazon in bringing Spatial Audio support, as it introduced it for iOS in June 2021 and Android in July 2021.
The spatial audio feature will support two formats: Dolby Atmos and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio. Users will be notified by an icon in the app when a song is playing in spatial audio (Sony’s 360 Reality Audio or Dolby Atmos). You can tap on it to toggle the spatial audio on or off as per your requirement. Amazon says it has over 75 million lossless HD music (16-bit, 44.1kHz) and about 7 million Ultra HD (24-bit, 192kHz) songs on its music app to listen to. It is possible that other audio and video streaming services like Netflix and Spotify may join the spatial audio bandwagon soon.
Amazon Music Subscription Cost
To enjoy music in spatial audio, HD audio, and Ultra HD audio, users will need to be subscribed to Amazon’s Music Unlimited service, which is priced at $9.99 per month ($7.99 for Prime subscribers) n the US. Bear in mind that the single device plan doesn’t offer HD or Ultra HD audio quality playback. You will have to make do with good old stereo audio playback. Amazon Music service is available for Android and iOS users. Unfortunately, the Amazon Music Unlimited service isn’t available in India as of now.
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