The Beatles album '1' gets the spatial audio treatment for Apple Music

Spatial Audio on Mac
Spatial Audio on Mac (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple Music has another spatial audio experience for your listening pleasure.
  • '1' from The Beatles has been uploaded in spatial audio with Dolby Atmos.
  • The album, originally from 2000, includes nearly every number-one hit from The Beatles.

The album '1', a compilation of nearly every number-one hit by The Beatles, has been uploaded to Apple music in spatial audio with Dolby Atmos.

As reported by Engadget:

Fans of the fab four, take note. Apple has uploaded a new version of the band's 1 compilation album that includes support for spatial audio with Dolby Atmos. First released in 2000, 1 brings together nearly every number-one single the Beatles released between 1962 and their breakup in 1970.

The album '1', first debuted in 2000 and redone in 2015, includes smash-hits from The Beatles including A Hard Day's Night, Ticket to Ride, Yesterday, Yellow Submarine, Hey Jude, and more. The album totals 27 songs in spatial audio with Dolby Atmos, as well as support for Apple Lossless audio and Apple Digital Master.

The report says the mix "isn't revelatory" but is a good excuse to revisit some of The Beatles' finest work. Spatial audio with Dolby Atmos works best with Apple's H1 and W1-supported headphones, which means most Beats headphones and Apple's best true wireless earbuds, the AirPods Pro, as well as AirPods 3 released last year.

Apple's spatial audio continues to be adopted across more and more music titles and was a welcome free upgrade to Apple Music when it was announced. However, users have noted that songs in spatial audio vary wildly in the quality of the mix and volume. Giles Martin, who mixed '1' for the feature, said last year that his attempt at mixing another The Beatles album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, didn't sound "quite right" and that he wanted to have another go at it.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9