Lossless audio and Dolby Atmos return to HomePod in 15.1 beta

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Apple Music lossless audio coming to HomePod, HomePod mini
But you need an invite to get it.
Photo: Apple

Apple’s newest HomePod beta, issued alongside the iOS and iPadOS 15.1 betas on Tuesday, brings back lossless audio and Dolby Atmos support. Both features can be enabled from inside the Home app, but only if you have an invite.

Apple has been working to bring its newest audio features to HomePod speakers for a while now. It first began testing them shortly after WWDC 2021 in June when the third HomePod 15 beta was made available to testers.

Lossless audio and Dolby Atmos coming soon to HomePod

However, both features were removed in a subsequent HomePod 15 beta release … then brought back later … then removed again as the software neared its public debut. Now, it seems Apple is getting ready to finally roll them out.

Both lossless audio and Dolby Atmos with spatial audio support are available in the first HomePod 15.1 beta release, 9to5Mac reports. They can be enabled inside the Home app by following these steps:

  1. Tap the Home icon in the top-left corner of the app.
  2. Select Home Settings then tap your profile.
  3. Select Media, then tap Apple Music.
  4. Toggle Lossless Audio and Dolby Atmos to activate.

Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t make its HomePod firmware betas available to all developers, like those for iPhone, iPad, and other devices. You need an invite to download and install the software ahead of its public debut.

However, if testing goes well this time around, we should see these features rolling out to all HomePod speakers in the coming weeks — alongside the iOS and iPadOS 15.1 updates.

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