Samsung and Google's Dolby Atmos rival is coming to Android – but I need it in earbuds before I get excited

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro against a leafy background.

(Image credit: Future)

Eclipsa Audio is coming to Android open-source software this year
It's also coming in TV and soundbar models from "multiple" manufacturers
But there's no work on headphones support connected to Android

Recently, Samsung and Google announced a new spatial audio technology called Eclipsa Audio, which is a direct (and free) rival to Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. Support for it is coming in 2025 Samsung soundbars and TVs, as well as to Google Chrome and YouTube during this year.

And now Google has confirmed that Eclipsa Audio is also coming to Android, in an upcoming AOSP (Android Open Source Project) release (via Sammobile). This is really the biggest news for Eclipsa so far, because it is the update that will bring it to the largest number of devices. There's no certainty on when AOSP updates will make it to individual devices, given the nature of Android and the many different versions that various companies use, but we can probably assume that Samsung will jump on this ASAP, so that's a lot of phones at the very least.

However, it's really only half of what we need to hear, because great 3D spatial audio on phones relies on having support from the best earbuds and best headphones. Spatial audio has been such a hit on Apple devices because of head-tracked Dolby Atmos, which makes it feel like you're sitting in a movie theater. This has been supported on AirPods Pro for years, and is available on all current models of the best AirPods.

What are you going to watch?

YouTube is not really enough for a spatial audio format to take off, especially since very little of it was recorded with any kind of spatial or surround audio in mind.

Google and Samsung need to get the best streaming services and movie and TV studios on board, especially the likes of Netflix, Prime Video and Disney Plus. But that's easier said than done – these all already support Dolby Atmos (and my understanding is that they don't pay to use it, so have little incentive to switch), and redoing shows and films to support Eclipsa would be a whole extra expense and load of time – even though Google says it will make it as easy as possible with new tools.

Will they feel any need to do it? It's all a bit chicken and egg. Why would streaming services support the format if very few devices support it? Why would device makers go to the effort of adding it if no streaming services offer it?

Samsung and Google can't force the streaming services to do anything, but they can add it to the Galaxy Buds and the Pixel Buds Pro 2. Google also says that Eclipsa support is coming to "TVs and Soundbars from multiple manufacturers later in 2025".

However, there's no information about this yet, and until there's a real push focused on how we'll hear Eclipsa on Android and who'll support it, it's going to have a slow launch.

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Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Entertainment, meaning he's in charge of persuading our team of writers and reviewers to watch the latest TV shows and movies on gorgeous TVs and listen to fantastic speakers and headphones. It's a tough task, as you can imagine. Matt has over a decade of experience in tech publishing, and previously ran the TV & audio coverage for our colleagues at T3.com, and before that he edited T3 magazine. During his career, he's also contributed to places as varied as Creative Bloq, PC Gamer, PetsRadar, MacLife, and Edge. TV and movie nerdism is his speciality, and he goes to the cinema three times a week. He's always happy to explain the virtues of Dolby Vision over a drink, but he might need to use props, like he's explaining the offside rule.