How to play music in Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos on iPad

Thursday October 15, 2026 8:22 pm EAT by Dave Johnson

If you subscribe to Apple Music, you can play available tracks in Dolby Atmos, which creates an immersive, three-dimensional (spatial) audio experience on stereo headphones and speakers or receivers compatible with Dolby Atmos.

Albums available in Dolby Atmos have the Dolby icon next to them, and the icon also appears on the Now Playing screen while a track plays that way. You can control Spatial Audio and head tracking, too. Dolby Atmos plays on any headphones, but not all speakers will play it as intended.

Note: Apple Music and Dolby Atmos aren’t available in all countries or regions.

Turn on Dolby Atmos

Open Settings, tap Apps, and then tap Music.
Tap Dolby Atmos and then choose Automatic or Always On.
- Automatic: Plays Dolby Atmos whenever iPad is connected to compatible headphones such as AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max, or to speakers or receivers compatible with Dolby Atmos.
- Always On: Plays Dolby Atmos on any headphones or speakers. The Music app will attempt to play Dolby Atmos tracks on any headphones or speakers connected to iPad.

Any headphones will play Dolby Atmos, but not all speakers will play Dolby Atmos as intended.

Control Spatial Audio and head tracking on iPad

When you play supported music on your iPad with AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, or AirPods Max, you can use Spatial Audio and head tracking to create an immersive, theater-like environment with sound that surrounds you. Follow these steps to control Spatial Audio and head tracking in Control Center.

Wear your AirPods and open Control Center.
Touch and hold the volume control. Then tap Spatial Audio at the lower right.
Tap one of the following:
- Off: Turns off both Spatial Audio and head tracking.
- Fixed: Turns on Spatial Audio without head tracking.
- Head Tracked: Turns on both Spatial Audio and head tracking. This setting allows the sound to follow the movement of your head.

The settings you choose are saved and applied automatically the next time you use that app. For example, if you tap Fixed while listening to a song in Apple Music, the Fixed setting is automatically used the next time you play a song in Apple Music.

Note: If you’d like head tracking disabled for all apps on your iPad, go to Settings > Accessibility > AirPods and tap your AirPods, then turn off Follow iPad.