HomePod 15.1 Beta Adds Lossless Audio and Dolby Atmos Support

Alongside the iOS 15.1 beta, Apple has also introduced a HomePod 15.1 beta that brings Lossless and Dolby Atmos Spatial Audio support to the ‌HomePod‌ and the HomePod mini.

HomePodandMini feature green
The ‌HomePod‌ beta software is invite only and is not provided to developers for testing purposes, but 9to5Mac was able to confirm that Lossless and Spatial Audio support are included in the beta.

Apple added Dolby Atmos with Spatial Audio and Lossless support to iOS and Mac devices in May, but promised that the feature would be coming to the ‌HomePod‌ and ‌HomePod mini‌ at a later time.

Lossless Audio and Dolby Atmos can be enabled through the Home app. Open up Home Settings, tap on your profile, and then under Media, tap on Apple Music. From there, toggle on Lossless Audio and Dolby Atmos. Note that these options appear in the iOS 15.1 beta, but the ‌HomePod‌ 15.1 beta seems to be needed to actually use the features on the ‌HomePod‌.

If all goes well, these features should launch with the ‌HomePod‌ 15.1 software that is set to be released alongside iOS 15.1. Since the iOS 15.1 was just provided to developers today, we likely have several weeks of testing to go.

Related Roundups: HomePod, HomePod mini

Popular Stories

m1 chip slide

Five Years of Apple Silicon: M1 to M5 Performance Comparison

Monday November 10, 2025 1:08 pm PST by
Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Apple silicon chip that replaced Intel chips in Apple's Mac lineup. The first Apple silicon chip, the M1, was unveiled on November 10, 2020. The M1 debuted in the MacBook Air, Mac mini, and 13-inch MacBook Pro. The M1 chip was impressive when it launched, featuring the "world's fastest CPU core" and industry-leading performance per watt, and it's only ...
Early Black Friday Deals 1

The Best Early Black Friday Apple Deals on AirPods, Apple Watch, iPad, and More

Saturday November 8, 2025 6:16 am PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
All Screen iPhone 2027 Feature 1

Apple to Hide Selfie Camera Under Display of 20th Anniversary iPhone

Monday November 10, 2025 1:55 am PST by
Apple will conceal the front-facing camera under the screen of its 2027 iPhone, a Chinese leaker said today, corroborating reports that Apple's 20th anniversary iPhone will have no visible cutouts in the display. Weibo-based account Digital Chat Station said Apple's development of under-screen camera technology was progressing as planned for adoption in 2027, one year after it will...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Adjusts Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday November 6, 2025 11:12 am PST by
Apple today updated its trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models. Trade-ins can be completed on Apple's website, or at an Apple Store. The charts below provide an overview of Apple's current and previous trade-in values in the U.S., according to its website. Maximum values for most devices either decreased or saw no change, but the iPad Air received a slight bump. ...
iphone air thinness

iPhone Air Sales Are So Bad That Apple's Delaying the Next-Generation Version

Monday November 10, 2025 11:41 am PST by
The thin, light iPhone Air sold so poorly that Apple has decided to delay the launch of the next-generation iPhone Air that was scheduled to come out alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, reports The Information. Apple initially planned to release a new iPhone Air in fall 2026, but now that's not going to happen. Since the iPhone Air launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales...
Apple fitness plus feature

Future of Apple Fitness+ 'Under Review'

Sunday November 9, 2025 5:30 am PST by
The future of Apple Fitness+ is "under review" amid a reorganization of the service, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In the latest edition of his "Power On" newsletter, Gurman said that Apple Fitness+ remains one of the company's "weakest digital offerings." The service apparently suffers from high churn and little revenue. Nevertheless, Fitness+ has a small, loyal fanbase that...
Liquid Glass General Feature

Apple Shares Liquid Glass Design Gallery

Thursday November 6, 2025 2:45 pm PST by
Apple is promoting the new Liquid Glass design in iOS 26, showing off the ways that third-party developers are embracing the aesthetic in their apps. On its developer website, Apple is featuring a visual gallery that demonstrates how "teams of all sizes" are creating Liquid Glass experiences. The gallery features examples of Liquid Glass in apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac. Apple...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Available Now With These 8 New Features

Monday November 3, 2025 5:54 am PST by
Following more than a month of beta testing, Apple released iOS 26.1 on Monday, November 3. The update includes a handful of new features and changes, including the ability to adjust the look of Liquid Glass and more. Below, we outline iOS 26.1's key new features. Liquid Glass Toggle iOS 26.1 lets you choose your preferred look for Liquid Glass. In the Settings app, under Display...
iPhone Satellite Feature

Apple Developing These 5 New Satellite Features for iPhone

Sunday November 9, 2025 6:07 am PST by
Apple is working on a series of new satellite connectivity features for the iPhone, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports. In this week's "Power On" newsletter, Gurman revealed that the new features in development include: Apple Maps via satellite: Navigation in Apple Maps without cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity. Photos in Messages via satellite: Support for sending photos in the Messages...
maxresdefault

In-Depth iPhone Battery Experiment Pits Slow Charging Against Fast Charging

Friday November 7, 2025 1:19 pm PST by
HTX Studio this week shared the results from a six-month battery test that compared how fast charging and slow charging can affect battery life over time. Using six iPhone 12 models, the channel set up a system to drain the batteries from five percent and charge them to 100 percent over and over again. Three were fast charged, and three were slow charged. Another set of iPhones underwent...

Top Rated Comments

citysnaps Avatar
54 months ago

I'm a little surprised that the HomePod continues to be sold and get software updates. I'd think Apple would get the hint.

I feel like Tim Cook's legacy should be remembered as being Siri. She was introduced at the first keynote where Tim lead, and despite the constant evidence that she needed massive improvements, he never did and instead just kept shoving her into more places she wasn't wanted.

Maybe Tim's successor will kill Siri as their first action. Then the HomePod.

It'll be like how Steve started his second run as CEO - he just axed all the stupid distractions that Apple had on their plate and focused on the core things that Apple should do right.

If you're going to sell a product at all, make it GREAT. And if it's not great, don't bother. HomePod and Siri are both things that should never have left R&D at Apple. The Apple Watch... has potential. Apple just keeps missing the mark. It feels like they need somebody new in-charge of the Apple Watch to bring it from OK to GREAT.
I have seven HomePods; four originals organized as two stereo pairs - one pair in my living room and another pair in my woodshop, a single original in my wife's studio, and two HomePod Minis.

All are superb producing music and taking Siri commands- I have zero complaints with any of them. Hat-tip to Tim Cook for developing them!
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B4rbelith Avatar
54 months ago

I'm a little surprised that the HomePod continues to be sold and get software updates. I'd think Apple would get the hint.

I feel like Tim Cook's legacy should be remembered as being Siri. She was introduced at the first keynote where Tim lead, and despite the constant evidence that she needed massive improvements, he never did and instead just kept shoving her into more places she wasn't wanted.

Maybe Tim's successor will kill Siri as their first action. Then the HomePod.

It'll be like how Steve started his second run as CEO - he just axed all the stupid distractions that Apple had on their plate and focused on the core things that Apple should do right.

If you're going to sell a product at all, make it GREAT. And if it's not great, don't bother. HomePod and Siri are both things that should never have left R&D at Apple. The Apple Watch... has potential. Apple just keeps missing the mark. It feels like they need somebody new in-charge of the Apple Watch to bring it from OK to GREAT.
HomePod was discontinued months ago. Shame as it's a quality product. I've got two and they sound mint.
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
citysnaps Avatar
54 months ago

No point showing us pictures of a product that Apple no longer sells.
The point of the picture is not to sell HomePods. It's to let people know who own them there's a beta update available. Easy.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jarman92 Avatar
54 months ago

I'm a little surprised that the HomePod continues to be sold and get software updates. I'd think Apple would get the hint.

I feel like Tim Cook's legacy should be remembered as being Siri. She was introduced at the first keynote where Tim lead, and despite the constant evidence that she needed massive improvements, he never did and instead just kept shoving her into more places she wasn't wanted.

Maybe Tim's successor will kill Siri as their first action. Then the HomePod.

It'll be like how Steve started his second run as CEO - he just axed all the stupid distractions that Apple had on their plate and focused on the core things that Apple should do right.

If you're going to sell a product at all, make it GREAT. And if it's not great, don't bother. HomePod and Siri are both things that should never have left R&D at Apple. The Apple Watch... has potential. Apple just keeps missing the mark. It feels like they need somebody new in-charge of the Apple Watch to bring it from OK to GREAT.
Pretty sure Tim Cook’s legacy will be leading Apple to becoming the world’s first $1 trillion company, and then the world’s first $2 trillion company, and very likely the world’s first $3 trillion company.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
840quadra Avatar
54 months ago

I have seven HomePods; four originals organized as two stereo pairs - one pair in my living room and another pair in my woodshop, a single original in my wife's studio, and two HomePod Minis.

All are superb producing music and taking Siri commands- I have zero complaints with any of them. Hat-tip to Tim Cook for developing them!
Agreed on the quality. I have a stereo pair in my great room that I tend to use for Apple TV Audio over my really expensive Home Theater. For most situations the pair provide plenty of audio for my needs, and I only fire up the full home audio when I have a dedicated movie night these days.

Siri has greatly improved since it was introduced. It can’t match some of the abilities of Google Assistant just due to the more privacy focused system, however voice recognition itself has been better on Apple devices for me recently. I have Google Home and Home Pods in my household.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mashdots Avatar
54 months ago
I for one am excited for this. It'll be great to finally take advantage of higher audio quality.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)