> THE SHIFT

MATT BOLTON loves Apple’s commitment to pushing audiovisual formats, even if the hardware doesn’t always reflect it

ON TOP OF being an oft– insufferable Apple nerd, I am also a huge audiovisual nerd.

I could talk in agonizing depth about the differences between the types of OLED TV screen, or what makes Dolby Atmos different from surround sound. One of the things I quietly appreciate about Apple is that it seems to be full of AV nerds too.

Apple TV has long been a device for “enthusiasts”. You can buy streaming devices with many of the same features for less. But not ALL of the same features. You don’t get as high streaming quality for purchased movies, or future– proofed HDMI format switching for better 24fps movie support. Most people don’t care about those things, and Apple TV 4K is still a good product for them, but it’s a particularly good product to me because of those extras.

ONE OF THE THINGS I APPRECIATE ABOUT APPLE IS T H AT IT SEEMS TO BE FULL OF AV NERDS

And then there’s spatial audio on AirPods. My goodness did it sound like a gimmick at the time, but it’s now one of my most– liked features on AirPods Pro, because I’m a movie lover, and it works best with Dolby Atmos movies. I’ve tried attempts at spatial audio from others, and on those it actually is a gimmick. Apple nailed it better than anyone else, and gave more people a window into the potential of object–based audio without needing to spend huge amounts of money on a home cinema system. Another example on these lines is support for Dolby Vision HDR on the screens of Apple devices, again giving people a way to see alarmingly premium image quality without spending vast sums on an elite TV.

Most recently, we have Vision Pro bringing in support for both 3D and high frame–rate movies. I love both Avatar movies, but never seen either of them outside the movie theater, as they’re made for a particular presentation that isn’t possible at home. There are movies such as Gemini Man that were designed to be trailblazers pushing the technology of films forward, but were barely able to be seen in their intended 3D, HFR, HDR format even when they were in cinemas —let alone after that. I thought I might never see that movie anything close to the way its director intended, but clearly the Vision Pro team has people who feel that even if the tech in these movies is at a dead end, there was value in the endeavor of the art.

Of course, sometimes the AV enthusiasm hits against hardware. The Apple Music team, clearly, is into delivering the highest quality audio with hi–res streaming. But the d