Google’s innovative Spatial Audio concept, designed to enhance the immersive quality of music and video audio, originally mandated the use of headphones for optimal experience. However, the Google Pixel Fold has revolutionized this norm by ingeniously incorporating Spatial Audio support directly into its built-in speakers, uniquely positioning itself as the sole Pixel model to offer this capability.
Nestled within the settings of the Google Pixel Fold lies an inconspicuous toggle, granting users access to the remarkable Spatial Audio feature through the device’s foldable integrated speakers. Boasting a dual-speaker configuration, with one located at the top and the other at the bottom when the device is unfolded, the Pixel Fold achieves significantly heightened stereo separation, outpacing the conventional single-speaker systems typical of most smartphones, often reinforced by a less potent earpiece speaker.
As elucidated in a support document uncovered by Mishaal Rahman on Reddit, Google illuminates that Spatial Audio can be harnessed through the Pixel Fold’s embedded speakers, mirroring the auditory perception akin to headphone listening.
Pixel Fold supports spatial audio over phone speakers
by u/MishaalRahman in GooglePixel
Upon activating spatial audio on the Pixel Fold, an experience akin to the immersive engagement achievable through headphones is attainable. Curiously, Google has not extensively advertised this feature, conspicuously omitting mention of it in the Pixel Fold’s store listing and even suggesting that Spatial Audio mandates headphone usage.
Our preliminary evaluation of this attribute on the Pixel Fold unveiled a discernible enhancement in the audio quality of supported content. Streaming Dolby Atmos-enabled media from Max, for instance, yielded a subtly enriched auditory experience, imbuing the audio with an enhanced sense of depth and spatial dimension. While the effect was not profoundly pronounced and a marginal decrease in volume was noticeable, the option undeniably contributes positively.
Evidently, this functionality extends to adjustments contingent on the position of the hinge, further underscoring the Pixel Fold’s technological prowess.
It is worth noting that, presently, the Pixel Fold stands alone as the sole Google device to embrace Spatial Audio via integrated speakers. While hypothetically plausible that the Pixel Tablet could potentially accommodate such functionality at a hardware level, Google’s current tablet iteration remains devoid of Spatial Audio support, even in conjunction with headphones.