- ASAF offers Dolby Atmos-style spatial sound, with multiple effects
- Available to all Apple Platforms Bar Watchos
- Focused primarily on vision pro
Apple has introduced a new format for the main tracking of spatial sound: ASAF. Apple Spatial Audio Format promises “Really Demolical Sound Experiences” and was revealed calmly at last week’s WWDC 2025 event -not in keynote, but in a session for app developers.
As Flatpanelshd explains, there are two components here: ASAF used in audio and video production to place light elements in a three-dimensional space, and APAC (Apple Positional Audio Codec), which is the codec used to deliver it.
If you think “not another Audio format “You’re not alone: Samsung and Google promote Eclipsa Audio as a Dolby Atmos rival.
However, Apple is both and is not a Dolby Atmos Rival – Flatpanelshd reports that Dolby Atmos can be delivered in Apple’s new format, which is then able to add some additional spatial sound tricks upstairs. So it seems to be less about replacing atmos than expanding … Although giving an alternative can be a big part of Apple’s plan.
What does ASAF mean for the future of sound?
That’s a very good question, because at the moment ASAF is for Apple devices: Tvos, iOS, iPados, MacOS and Visionos. The iPhone 16 can be used to catch ASAF sound and the light catch is probably something to be aware of.
Originally, according to Apple’s presentation, it seems that the focus – word games very intended – is on the visionos headset. Apple has a mandate for the use of APAC with all immersive video titles, although Codec can be used as a container for Dolby Atmos data instead of ASAF if the creator already uses this format.
The idea of ASAF’s extra 3D skills is that they can change the spatial sound, not only based on your own main tracking and positioning, but also based on the virtual environment you are in, and change elements such as the binding and reverb to make the sound seem like it matches the world you are in. So you can see why it goes beyond Dolby Atmos, just assuming you are in the center of a virtual theater.
However, a further appeal here may not be technical; It can be financial. Dolby Atmos requires royalty payments from producers, and Samsung told us that one of the goals of Eclipsa sound was partly to ensure that smaller content creators could create and deliver spatial sound videos easily as well.
Apple may offer a similar approach: Where it previously kept its formats proprietary, it has become more open in recent years, and its Apple Lossess Audio Codec fell its royalty scheme back in 2011. ASAF can apparently be created using industry standard software and plugins.
APAC CODEC allegedly works on Bitrates as low as 64 kbps and maximizes at 768 kbps, which can seem low, is the same maximum bitrate that Apple, Netflix and others use to stream Dolby Atmos at the moment so it will match the current quality standards.
