How Sony nearly ruled spatial audio - until Apple changed music forever

2026-05-21 · Source: News and Advice on the World's Latest Innovations | ZDNET · Field: Technology & Digital — Emerging Technologies & Innovation, Corporate Strategy & Leadership, Project & Product Management · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, medium

Summary

Sony introduced its 360 Reality Audio spatial audio format at CES 2019, aiming to establish it across streaming services like Tidal and Amazon Music, integrate it into its personal audio hardware, and license it to other manufacturers. While Sony accurately foresaw the rise of immersive audio, its proprietary approach, which required ear-mapping via an app and was limited to Sony headphones, struggled to gain traction. In contrast, Apple's 2021 announcement of Apple Music support for Dolby Atmos, coupled with head-tracking across millions of existing AirPods, iPhones, Macs, and iPads, rapidly mainstreamed spatial audio. Apple leveraged Dolby's established format and its vast ecosystem, allowing Atmos content to be reproduced on virtually any headphones, while Sony's format, despite still existing in 2026, saw early adopter Tidal drop support and Sony itself shift focus to virtual upmixing technologies like 360 Spatial Sound in products such as the WH-1000XM6 headphones.

Key takeaway

For product managers developing new audio technologies, prioritize ecosystem integration and user experience simplicity over proprietary, high-friction personalization. Your success hinges on making advanced features broadly accessible with minimal effort, as Apple demonstrated with Dolby Atmos. Avoid Sony's misstep of requiring specialized hardware and complex setup processes. Instead, focus on leveraging existing device bases and established formats to drive rapid market adoption and avoid being outmaneuvered by competitors with broader reach.

Key insights

Ecosystem control and user simplicity are paramount for new audio technology adoption.

Principles

• Control over hardware and software ecosystems is key.
• User experience simplicity accelerates market penetration.
• Leveraging established formats can outperform proprietary solutions.

In practice

• Prioritize broad hardware compatibility over niche personalization.
• Integrate new features via software updates for existing devices.
• Partner with proven industry standards for faster adoption.

Topics

• Spatial Audio
• Ecosystem Strategy
• Dolby Atmos
• 360 Reality Audio
• Apple Music
• Consumer Audio Hardware

Best for: Product Manager, Tech Journalist, Consultant

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by News and Advice on the World's Latest Innovations | ZDNET.