Advertisement
Australia markets closed
  • ALL ORDS

    8,153.70
    +80.10 (+0.99%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,896.90
    +77.30 (+0.99%)
     
  • AUD/USD

    0.6520
    -0.0015 (-0.24%)
     
  • OIL

    82.33
    +0.98 (+1.20%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,232.90
    +20.20 (+0.91%)
     
  • Bitcoin AUD

    109,479.47
    +2,509.14 (+2.35%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • AUD/EUR

    0.6035
    +0.0004 (+0.07%)
     
  • AUD/NZD

    1.0898
    +0.0018 (+0.17%)
     
  • NZX 50

    12,105.29
    +94.63 (+0.79%)
     
  • NASDAQ

    18,280.72
    -0.12 (-0.00%)
     
  • FTSE

    7,968.27
    +36.29 (+0.46%)
     
  • Dow Jones

    39,764.74
    +4.66 (+0.01%)
     
  • DAX

    18,492.05
    +14.96 (+0.08%)
     
  • Hang Seng

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products.

Google's latest acquisition could lead to spatial audio for the Pixel Buds

It purchased 3D audio startup Dysonics, including its patents for tracking binaural sound.

Billy Steele/Engadget

Google recently acquired a 3D audio startup that could lead to new features for the Pixel Buds or any of its other future products. Protocol has discovered a filing (PDF) with the US Patent and Trademark Office, which reveals that the tech giant bought Dysonics and its intellectual properties, back in December. Those IPs include patents for tracking binaural sound. As the publication notes, the acquisition could end up introducing spatial audio support to the next iteration of the Pixel Buds, similar to the surround sound effect feature Apple rolled out for the AirPods Pro and Max.

The startup's co-founder and CTO Robert Dalton Jr. updated his LinkedIn profile to reflect his new job working on audio hardware for Google. Other former Dysonics employees have also joined the company in the same division — one software engineer wrote that he's now working "on a team that builds audio algorithms for a variety of Google's hardware products." However, they didn't say what hardware they're developing exactly.

While the Pixel Buds seems most likely, they could be building other products for the company, such as the next generation of Nest speakers. They could also be developing new mixed reality products for the tech giant, which discontinued its Daydream View headsets in 2019 but purchased AR glasses maker North last year.