Dolby Atmos is finally coming to Apple TV 4K

Apple is fulfilling its promise of bringing immersive audio to the Apple TV 4K

The Cupertino-based company announced at its WWDC 2018 keynote that it's bringing the immersive Dolby Atmos audio format to its streaming device - making it the only streaming device to support Atmos and Dolby Vision

Atmos, if you haven't heard of it before, provides a more immersive audio experience by creating a sound bubble of 360-degree sound by bouncing sound off the ceiling, making it more lifelike than traditional surround sound systems.

The catch, obviously, is that you'll need an Atmos-equipped sound system to take advantage of the up-and-coming audio format. There are options from LG and Samsung, like the LG SJ9 Soundbar or Samsung HW-K950, but they're more expensive than traditional 2.1 setups.

Atmos on iTunes

To coincide with the launch of Atmos support on Apple TV 4K, Apple is bringing Atmos-compatible movies to the iTunes store. 

There's no word yet on if pricing will be any different than traditional surround sound files but we do know that Apple will offer a free upgrade to Atmos-enabled movies and shows like it did for 4K HDR/Dolby Vision films when those formats first hit the iTunes Store.

We don't know when exactly Dolby Atmos support will come to Apple TV 4K with Apple revealing nothing more than a "fall" window but we'll be sure to update when we find out more.

Nick Pino

Nick Pino is Managing Editor, TV and AV for TechRadar's sister site, Tom's Guide. Previously, he was the Senior Editor of Home Entertainment at TechRadar, covering TVs, headphones, speakers, video games, VR and streaming devices. He's also written for GamesRadar+, Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer and other outlets over the last decade, and he has a degree in computer science he's not using if anyone wants it.

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