Apple Music's spatial audio event could be a surprise at Apple's WWDC 2021 keynote

Twitter user Kenny (via 9to5Mac) first spotted the announcement of a spatial audio showcase, but the Apple Music link Kenny posted is no longer available, nor is anything listed on the official WWDC schedule This may suggest that Apple does not consider the spatial audio event to be part of WWDC 2021 or simply wants to keep it as a surprise

Still, we already knew in June that a form of spatial audio was coming to Apple Music alongside lossless audio This event would be a more in-depth look at how this technology works

Spatial audio in Apple Music is expected to be more similar to Sony's 360 Reality Audio than how spatial audio works with AirPods Pro and AirPods Max Because these headphones have motion sensors, the different sound origins will remain constant relative to the phone's screen, even as you move your head in a video with surround sound [The head-tracking feature will likely not be a core component, as Apple has already confirmed that Apple Music's spatial audio does not require AirPods Pro or AirPods Max and is in fact compatible with any headphones

Therefore, this could be a challenge to Apple's 360 Reality Audio, which leverages Dolby Atmos mastering to map various instruments and vocal tracks onto a 3D digital "sphere" centered on the listener This would still create a 360-degree effect, but not one that stays in place when you move your head

Judging from this new event preview, it looks like we won't have to wait long to learn more about how spatial audio will work with Apple Music According to the now-deleted announcement, the event is scheduled for today, June 7, at 3 pm ET/12 pm ET

Meanwhile, Apple's WWDC keynote will take place at 1:00 pm EST / 10:00 am PST