Skip to main content

Apple adds seamless handoff and ‘Spatial Audio’ to AirPods

As part of their WWDC 2020 announcements, Apple revealed that the AirPods line of products will be receiving new updates with significant upgrades to their intelligence across multiple devices, and improvements to their sound quality. AirPods will be able to jump from device to device without needing to create a new connection, and a new feature called Spatial Audio that will support digital immersive sound is coming.

Automatic Handoff

Apple’s AirPods —  including the new AirPods Pro — will be able to jump from device to device without having to be manually changed with a handoff feature. If, for example, you start listening to music on your iPhone, you’ll be able to jump to your iPad and the audio will easily jump with you. You can even move again from iPad to a Mac computer in the same manner. If after switching you were to receive a call, the AirPods will automatically link back to the phone so that you can answer it seamlessly.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Spatial Audio

Promising an immersive 360-degree audio experience, Apple’s new Spatial Audio technology makes AirPods provide what Apple described as a replicated “movie theater experience.” Since, obviously, it is not actually possible to have surround sound without multiple speakers, Apple got around that problem by using digital immersive surround sound technology that mimics the sound of multiple speakers into the two AirPods sources. Thanks to this technology, the audio will be compatible with 5.1, 7.1 and even Dolby Atmos.

Apple / Apple

But that’s not all: Apple factored in the movement of your head, the source device, and even if you might be riding in a car or banking in an airplane. Using the accelerometer and gyroscopes inside the Airpods to track the motion of your head, Apple is able to remap the sound fields so they stay anchored to the device even as your head moves. In this way, an actor’s voice will sound like it’s still coming from a specific actor in a specific location, rather than just coming from all around you the same way all the time. Additionally, the AirPods data constantly compares motion data from your head to your screen, so that sound stays in sync regardless of how you move, or where you are moving.

Recommended Videos

Optimized Battery Charging

Though not mentioned in their WWDC presentation, Apple is bringing optimized battery charging to the AirPods in their next update as noted by Cult of Mac. Already found in the iPhone, battery charging optimization allows a product to learn your habits and adjust how much and how quickly to charge the AirPods, as sitting at 100% while plugged into power can degrade them faster over time. This feature, somewhat strangely, is coming to the AirPods before the Apple Watch or the iPad which could also benefit from the optimized charging feature.

Updated June 23 with information about optimized battery charging.

Jaron Schneider
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jaron Schneider is a former award-winning commercial filmmaker and long-time digital imaging expert across the field of both…
Apple’s newest AirPods 4 add affordable ANC and wireless charging
The AirPods 4.

Apple's annual fall event (or close enough to fall, anyway) has arrived. And with it we have the iPhone 16, of course, a new version of the AirPods Max — and new entry-level and midrange AirPods (to go along with new features for the existing AirPods Pro).

Apple has said goodbye to the original long-stem AirPods design, with the new AirPods 4 looking a lot like the third-gen AirPods. It has also created a separate version called the AirPods 4 with ANC.

Read more
These AirPods alternatives from 1More are impossibly cheap
1More TWS Q10 wireless earbuds.

It won't come as a surprise to anyone that you don't need to spend Apple AirPods-equivalent money (about $130) to get a decent set of comfortable wireless earbuds. But I'll bet most folks will be stunned to learn that you can buy a set of AirPods alternatives for just $17.

And no, I'm not talking about some no-name brand on Amazon that didn't exist six months ago (and may not exist six months from now). The company in question is 1More, a brand that we are very familiar with here at Digital Trends. Over the years, it has consistently wowed us with its ability to produce great headphones and earbuds at prices that are always much lower than we expect.

Read more
How long do Apple AirPods last?
Profile of a man wearing the Apple AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C and MagSafe case.

Apple AirPods are among the most popular (and most deservedly loved) wireless earbuds and headphones on the market. But wire-free listening, exceptional sound quality, and cutting-edge noise cancellation are laurels that wouldn’t be laurels without battery power. 

The lithium-ion cells that run your Apple buds and cans are finite energy sources, and not every AirPods battery behaves the same. So now you’re probably wondering how long your Apple AirPods are going to last. That's a good question, with a ton a variables. And you probably should start by reading our AirPods 4 review, and our AirPods Pro 2 review.

Read more