Spatial Audio Earbuds: Which Work With Your Phone

Start with your phone, because most of these systems only work fully with the maker’s own. With an iPhone, buy AirPods: the AirPods 5 at $129 or the AirPods Pro 3 at $249. With a Samsung Galaxy, the Galaxy Buds4 Pro at about $250. With a Google Pixel, the Pixel Buds Pro 2 at $229.

With any other Android phone, or if you change phones often, pick earbuds that do the work themselves. The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) at $299 are the clearest case, and the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 and soundcore Liberty 4 Pro do the same for about half the price.

We have not listened to any of these. What follows is what each maker states on its own pages about what its earbuds do and which phones they need.

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What spatial audio means

Ordinary stereo plays a left channel and a right channel, and the sound seems to sit inside your head. Spatial audio processes the sound so it seems to come from around you. Google describes it as creating a multi-speaker effect similar to a surround sound setup, and says it works best with films and TV shows.

Head tracking is the second half. Sensors in the earbuds follow your head, and the sound stays where it was. Sony puts it this way: with regular earbuds the sound moves with your head, and with head tracking the sound field stays in place.

There are two ways to get the effect, and the difference decides what you can play:

• Content mixed for it. Dolby Atmos films and music, and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio music, place each sound at a position in space. You need the right app, the right track and usually the right phone.
• Processing in the earbuds. Bose Immersive Audio, and the spatial modes from OnePlus and soundcore, take ordinary stereo and widen it. Bose says its system needs no Dolby Atmos and no specially formatted files.

Spatial audio earbuds compared

Prices are from each maker’s US store, rounded. Battery figures are the makers’ own, per charge and with the case, with noise cancelling on unless noted.

One thing to read into the battery column: the effect costs power. Bose says so plainly, with 6 hours falling to 4 when Immersive Audio is on. Apple’s small print says its figures were measured with Spatial Audio off.

Tied to the maker’s own phones

Apple AirPods 5, $129, and AirPods Pro 3, $249

Both have what Apple calls Personalized Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking. “Personalized” means the TrueDepth camera on an iPhone captures your face and ears to build a profile. Apple’s support page lists what it runs on: an iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, a Mac with Apple silicon, or a Vision Pro. No Android phone is on that list.

The AirPods 5 are the cheap way in, with an open-ear design, noise cancelling and 4 hours per charge. A version with a wireless charging case is $149 and lasts 5 hours. The AirPods Pro 3 have stronger noise cancelling, which Apple puts at up to three times that of the AirPods 5, heart-rate sensing during workouts and 8 hours per charge. Apple AirPods 5 on Amazon · Apple AirPods Pro 3 on Amazon

Beats Powerbeats Fit, about $200

Beats belongs to Apple and uses the same system. Beats says the Powerbeats Fit use sensors in the earbuds and in your iPhone or iPad to keep the sound anchored to the device. They are sport earbuds with a wingtip, an IPX4 rating and Android support for everything else. The hooked Powerbeats Pro 2, at about $250, have the same feature. Our guide to the Beats range covers both. Beats Powerbeats Fit on Amazon

Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro, about $250

Samsung calls its system 360 Audio, with head tracking. Its small print is blunt: 360 Audio is only available on Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets running One UI 3.1 or later, and on selected Samsung TVs. Samsung’s own FAQ says other Android phones get most features through its app but not 360 Audio, and that iPhones connect by plain Bluetooth only. Battery is 6 hours with noise cancelling on, 26 with the case. The Galaxy Buds4, at about $180, list 360 Audio with head tracking too. Samsung Galaxy Buds4 Pro on Amazon

Google Pixel Buds Pro 2, $229

Google’s help page says Spatial Audio with head tracking works on the Pixel Buds Pro and Pro 2 with a Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro or newer Pixel phone. Head tracking is off by default. The earbuds pair with any Bluetooth phone for ordinary listening. Google gives up to 30 hours with the case and noise cancelling on. The cheaper Pixel Buds 2a, at $129, have spatial audio without head tracking. Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 on Amazon

Not tied to one phone maker

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), $299

Bose Immersive Audio is processed inside the earbuds. Bose says it works with virtually any stereo source and needs no special streaming service or audio format, and that these earbuds use dynamic head tracking. A separate Cinema Mode does the same for video. Because nothing depends on the phone, this is the pair to buy if you might move between iPhone and Android. The price is battery: up to 6 hours, or 4 with Immersive Audio on. The case holds up to three more charges. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) on Amazon

Sony WF-1000XM6, about $330

Sony’s sites would not load for us, so these facts come from copies of its US store pages saved by the Internet Archive. Sony says head tracking keeps the sound field in place as you move, with compatible devices and services. The small print narrows that. Spatial sound content such as Netflix and YouTube needs an Android 13 phone capable of head tracking, and the apps that work vary by phone. For Sony’s own 360 Reality Audio, it names three Xperia phones and two apps, and says the feature is not currently available with 360 Reality Audio streamed from Amazon Music Unlimited.

Sony sells this model mainly on noise cancelling and sound quality. If spatial audio is the reason you are buying, check that small print against your phone first. Battery is 8 hours per charge and 24 with the case. Sony WF-1000XM6 on Amazon

OnePlus Buds Pro 3, about $150 to $180

OnePlus says these render spatial audio in the earbuds, for 3D sound from any Android or iOS device whether or not the phone supports spatial audio itself, and that head tracking is included. On a OnePlus phone the setting is built in. On other phones you turn it on in the HeyMelody app. Battery is 6 hours with noise cancelling on, 25 with the case. OnePlus’s US store listed them at $180 with a lower price of $150 showing. OnePlus Buds Pro 3 on Amazon

soundcore Liberty 4 Pro, about $150

Anker’s soundcore lists 360° Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking, switched on in the soundcore app. There is a fixed mode and a head tracking mode, with music and movie settings. Battery is 7.5 hours with noise cancelling on, 30 with the case. Our 2021 list had the older Liberty 3 Pro. soundcore Liberty 4 Pro on Amazon

Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio

These are formats for content, not features of earbuds, and that is where most confusion starts.

• Dolby Atmos in Apple Music: Apple says supported songs play in Dolby Atmos automatically on an iPhone, iPad or Mac with any Apple or Beats Bluetooth headphones. On Android, Apple says the Apple Music app plays Dolby Atmos only on a phone that itself supports Dolby Atmos. Head-tracked music needs headphones that support it and a compatible iPhone, iPad or Mac.
• Sony 360 Reality Audio: Sony says it plays through any headphones, from a partner streaming app on your phone. The partners it lists are Amazon Music Unlimited, nugs and PeerTracks, alongside its own 360 Reality Audio Live app.
• Films and series: Google says spatial audio on a Pixel works with titles that have 5.1 or higher soundtracks on services including YouTube, Netflix and Disney+.

Apple Music’s other upgrade, lossless audio, is a separate matter and does not travel over Bluetooth at all. Our guide to DACs for Apple Music lossless explains that one.

Which to pick

• iPhone: AirPods 5 at $129, or AirPods Pro 3 at $249 for twice the battery per charge and stronger noise cancelling.
• iPhone and the gym: Beats Powerbeats Fit.
• Samsung Galaxy: Galaxy Buds4 Pro. Do not buy them for 360 Audio with any other phone.
• Google Pixel: Pixel Buds Pro 2.
• Another Android phone, or you switch phones: Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) if the budget reaches $299. OnePlus Buds Pro 3 or soundcore Liberty 4 Pro at about half that.
• Skip for spatial audio: the Sony WF-1000XM6, unless your phone is one Sony’s small print covers.

Readers in India often search for spatial audio earbuds under ₹2,000. We have not verified any at that price, so none is recommended here. Read the small print on cheaper models. OnePlus’s India page for the Nord Buds 3, for example, says its 3D Audio has no head tracking and works only on selected OnePlus phones.

What the old version got wrong

The 2021 version of this page said Samsung’s 360 Audio did not need a Samsung phone and that AirPods spatial audio worked the same on Android. Neither matches what the makers say now. The models on that list also have newer versions, which are the ones above: the Sony WF-1000XM6 for the XM4, the Galaxy Buds4 Pro for the Galaxy Buds Pro, the AirPods Pro 3 for the first AirPods Pro, the Powerbeats Fit for the Beats Fit Pro, and the soundcore Liberty 4 Pro for the Liberty 3 Pro.

Quick answers

What does spatial audio mean in earbuds?

The earbuds or the phone process sound so it seems to come from around you, like a set of speakers, instead of from inside your head. With head tracking, the sound stays put when you turn your head.

Which spatial audio earbuds work with Android?

On any Android phone: Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), OnePlus Buds Pro 3 and soundcore Liberty 4 Pro. Samsung’s need a Galaxy phone and Google’s need a Pixel 6 or newer.

Do AirPods have spatial audio on Android?

Apple’s support page lists only Apple devices for Personalized Spatial Audio. With an Android phone, Apple says AirPods work as a Bluetooth headset: you can listen and talk.

Do you need Dolby Atmos for spatial audio?

No. Dolby Atmos is one format. Bose says its Immersive Audio works with standard stereo and does not require Dolby Atmos.

Do earbuds with spatial audio have noise cancelling?

All nine pairs in the table list active noise cancelling.

Prices move, so confirm on the maker’s store before you pay.