If you’re an Audible subscriber, you’ll soon be able to listen to some audiobooks in spatial audio.
In a press release, the company announced a major enhancement to its audio experience with the addition of Dolby Atmos. The new technology will allow Audible subscribers to enjoy immersive audio experiences when listening to audiobooks. At launch, 40 of its originals have been mixed in Dolby Atmos for subscribers to give the listening experience a try.
Rachel Ghiazza, EVP and Head of US Content at Audible, said in a statement that the addition of Dolby Atmos gives creators “another powerful tool to create extraordinary audio content with Audible.”
“Our commitment to delivering the best possible experiences to our customers—and to the creators we work with—is central to everything we do at Audible. We’re thrilled to collaborate with Dolby to deliver world-class, Dolby Atmos immersive storytelling to our members, and to give creators another powerful tool to create extraordinary audio content with Audible.”
The company says that all 40 titles are available starting today. Atmos versions will work on the iOS app as well as any Android Dolby Atmos-enabled mobile devices.
Today’s announcement makes Audible the first large audiobook company to bring Dolby Atmos to audiobook tracks. Apple Books, in comparison, has yet to bring spatial audio to its audiobook platform. That’s surprising since Apple has been leading the way in bringing spatial audio with Dolby Atmos to Apple Music.
While the spatial audio race continues, one company is still way behind, and that’s Spotify. The company has promised that its HiFi plan is still coming, but users have been waiting for years for the feature. The music streaming app is also still missing spatial audio content from Dolby Atmos.
Instead of going that route, Spotify seems to be leaning harder into music videos and video podcasts with its recent design announcement.
