No, Sonos has not made an announcement, nor has Apple. 

Apple did their part of the job: “With the release of iOS 18, Apple has taken another step forward by making its AirPlay technology compatible with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos”. It is also true for IPadOS, MacOS and TVOS.

Ah, I stand (or sit) semi corrected. Apple has made their announcement. I don’t expect Sonos to make comments (they rarely do) before/if they actually release the capability.

Given the efforts they’re making to reach parity with the older version of the S2 app, I could well imagine the effort is not at the top of their priority list, but that is pure conjecture. 

You are probably right but it would be great to be able to listen Spatial Audio without having to use their so bad app. For now, I use Soro to make the link between Apple Music and the Sonos app. Better than nothing. 

Hi @Easternsoundman 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

Although Apple have upgraded AirPlay 2 to support Atmos audio, they have not extended that support to work with non-Apple devices, just as with 5.1 audio before it. For us to support Atmos over AirPlay, Apple would need to allow it first.

I hope this helps.

“With the addition of spatial audio compatibility to AirPlay, any Dolby Atmos speaker that works with AirPlay will be able to receive Atmos wirelessly from any Apple device — regardless of the streaming app in use”.

That is Apple’s half of the equation, certainly. Sonos needs to match that capability in its software, and hardware, if it can. Give. Their current situation, it may take more time than normal, if it is even possible. Since I’m not involved in resource discussions, I just don’t know, beyond not holding my breath.

Hi @Easternsoundman 

I searched that entire quotation and Google returned one result, and one result only:

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/spatial-audio-over-airplay-could-144838007.html

If it’s not Apple saying it, I’d take it with a pinch of salt.

I hope this helps.

You are right. I asked it directly to Apple and am waiting for their answer. I will come back with their answer if I can get one.

The official press release stating apples support for Spatial Audio airplay on third party devices is almost 6months old now

https://www.apple.com/ca/newsroom/2024/06/updates-to-the-home-experience-elevate-entertainment-and-bring-more-convenience/

Hi @swist 

That’s, um, interesting!

As they only mention HomePods specifically, it might be worth asking them exactly which “third-party products” support it, as, as far as I am aware, we would be interested in doing so.

Have you “marked this thread as a feature request” so that “it will be seen by the relevant teams for consideration” and asked us to “Keep the ideas coming”, @Corry P?

Hi @nik9669a 

Fair point - this thread has now been converted to a feature request and will be seen by the relevant teams for consideration.