Mercedes has always made a big deal about its Burmester Audio system on its luxury vehicles which promise 3D and 4D sound, but now it has upped the ante by collaborating with Apple. Apple’s music streaming service, Apple Music, launched spatial audio support last year and now it is deeply integrated into the latest Mercedes Benz EQE SUV which launched on Sunday.
Spatial audio will be enabled at the heart of the MBUX infotainment system which will first come to the Mercedes Maybach S-Class, S-Class, EQS, and EQS SUV via a software update and it will be launched as well on the EQE and the newly launched EQE SUV. This feature is available for cars that have the Bumester 3D or 4D sound system which costs an additional $4,550 to $6,730.
Mercedes and Apple believe that it will offer a more realistic audio experience and give the vibe of a concert hall.
“Sound quality is incredibly important to Apple Music which is why we are so excited to be working with Mercedes to make Spatial Audio on Apple Music available natively in the car for the first time. Spatial Audio is revolutionising the way artists create and fans listen to music and it’s an experience that is impossible to explain in words; you have to hear it for yourself to appreciate it. Together with Mercedes, we now have even more opportunities to bring wholly immersive music to our subscribers all over the world,“ said Apple’s VP for Apple Music and Beats Oliver Schusser.
While Apple has an arrangement with Audi and Porsche for the integration of Apple Music in their cars, this is the first time the Cupertino-based company has extended spatial audio capabilities beyond iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPods and HomePods. Recently, Apple revealed that Apple Music had over 100 million songs and a substantial chunk of the portfolio includes songs tuned for spatial audio and lossless high-resolution audio formats.
Most premium car owners tend to iPhone users as it is the best-selling smartphone in the world and via its vertical integration Apple is now capturing a lot of customers that would’ve traditionally gravitated towards Spotify by virtue of deals like the one it has now cracked with Mercedes.