A variety of operating system updates for Apple products arrived this week including iOS 18.5, watchOS 11.5 and macOS 15.5. Apple TVs also got an update with tvOS 18.5 — an otherwise minor release that still adds an enhancement for Dolby Atmos surround sound.
For the most part, the tvOS 18.5 update won’t change your Apple TV experience. Some bugs are getting fixed, but the one big new feature will enhance surround sound playback.
“This update adds support for synchronizing Dolby Atmos playback to speakers over AirPlay or Bluetooth,” the Apple release notes read.
You can access this tool by going to Settings – Video and Audio – Wireless Audio Sync.
Since tvOS 13, which debuted in 2019, you’ve been able to sync your wireless speaker setup to combat unsynchronized audio. But until this week, the feature did not support Dolby Atmos. Previously, any Atmos problems required a workaround.
Now, if you follow the wireless syncing process which uses your iPhone as a microphone to fix audio sync issues, you should be able to correct any Dolby Atmos syncing problems.
It will be especially helpful for people whose setups include equipment that may not have supported Atmos before like TVs.
