Engine roar will never have sounded so good as it will once Apple TV adds Dolby Atmos to F1 at the end of October 2026.
Soon it's not just going to be "F1: The Movie" whose sound is award-worthy. Apple has announced that it is partnering with Dolby Laboratories to bring Dolby Atmos audio from the race track and the pit lane to viewers.
"If you are a sports fan today, our viewpoint today is that the experience is — am going to be polite and say not easy," Oliver Schusser, Apple's VP of music, sports, Apple TV and Beats, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "There really has not been a lot of innovation."
"We went into sports a couple of years back with the intention to make a difference for the customer, this is a continuation of that journey," he continued.
So far Apple has only said that Dolby Atmos will be used beginning with the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, in October 2026. It's not clear yet whether that is solely the actual race on October 25, or also the practice and qualifying heats in the days leading up to that.
Then it's also not confirmed what will happen after the US Grand Prix. Apple says that this is the beginning of providing Dolby Atmos audio, and reportedly also for future races.
Whether it will be done for every subsequent race, though, is yet to be confirmed.
What is clear is that to receive Dolby Atmos, viewers will need Dolby-enabled TVs and home theater systems. Separately, Apple is now expected to launch an updated Apple TV 4K with support for surround sound using four HomePod mini speakers.
Apple TV already supports Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision on certain dramas, such as "Silo."