iOS 15 let's you turn off head tracking for spatial audio — here's how

Getting tired of the head tracking feature for spatial audio? You can turn it off in iOS 15.

While the spatial audio feature on AirPods Pro and AirPods Max can be really cool, the head tracking feature may be a little disorienting — especially if you're moving around quite a bit. The idea behind head tracking is to allow the music to stay the same place in the soundscape your headphones create, even if your move your head. So, if you turn your head to the right or left, the music pans accordingly, so all the sounds stay in the same place.

Neat, huh? But, if you find it more distracting than enjoyable you can turn it off in the Accessibility settings on your iPhone. So, no more allowing your best iPhone to follow your head if you don't want to. Here's how you turn off head tracking for spatial audio on iPhone

How to turn off head tracking for spatial audio on iPhone

Remember, head tracking is only available for spatial audio, which means only the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max can take advantage of the feature. On top of that, not all music on Apple Music support spatial audio and therefore doesn't support head tracking either. If a song or album can take advantage of spatial audio, it should be clearly labeled in Apple Music. Without further ado, here's how to turn off head tracking for spatial audio on iPhone.

1. Launch Settings from your Home screen.

2. Tap Accessibility.

   

3. Tap AirPods.

4. Tap the Follow iPhone On/Off Switch. The switch will turn gray when the feature is disabled.

   

Voila! Now you can enjoy your spatial audio without head tracking. Of course, if you ever want to turn the feature back on, you can follow the same steps listed above.