For the first time, Apple Music‘s popular spatial audio feature is being extended to cars. Mercedes-Benz announced yesterday that it is adding Apple Music with spatial audio to a limited number of its vehicles beginning today, but support for the feature is not free.
Mercedes-Benz and Apple announced in a press release that Apple Music with spatial audio is now directly integrated with the MBUX infotainment system, first in the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, EQS and EQS SUV, EQE, EQE SUV, and S-Class. The feature is available in these vehicles when equipped with the 31-speaker Burmester 3D or 4D sound system, which costs an additional $4,550 or $6,730 at the time of purchase.
This provides drivers with “studio-quality sound superior to any concert hall” as well as “a fully immersive listening experience with unparalleled, multidimensional sound and clarity.”
Apple Music and Beats vice president Oliver Schuster praised the new partnership in a statement: “Sound quality is essential to Apple Music.” We are thrilled to be collaborating with Mercedes to bring Spatial Audio on Apple Music to the car for the first time. Spatial Audio is changing the way musicians create and listen to music, and it’s an experience that can’t be described in words; you have to hear it for yourself to appreciate it. We now have even more opportunities to provide fully immersive music to our subscribers worldwide thanks to our collaboration with Mercedes.
This is the first time Apple Music’s spatial audio feature has been extended to car audio systems. Apple first announced the feature, along with support for lossless streaming, last year. All Apple Music subscribers have free access to spatial audio and lossless streaming.
