The Google Pixel Fold has a hidden exclusive feature up its sleeve

Google announced the Pixel Fold on May 10 this year, but three months later, we are still discovering new things about it. Turns out that Google had “hidden” an unexpected exclusive feature inside its first foldable Pixel phone — support for spatial audio.

Now, before you start wondering what the heck we are talking about, we are not talking about experiencing spatial audio via headphones that support it. No, it is the Google Pixel Fold‘s stereo speakers that support spatial audio without the need for any peripherals.

This unexpected pleasant surprise was reported by SageSushi, a user on Telegram, and shared on X (formerly Twitter) by the Android guru Mishaal Rahman. In fact, the Pixel Fold’s support page does mention that the Pixel Fold’s speakers support spatial audio, and it even says that this feature is exclusive to the book-like Pixel foldable.

To toggle the feature on or off, you need only take three easy steps:

• Open your phone’s Settings app.
• Tap Sound & vibration > Spatial audio.
• Toggle on/off Phone speaker.

There you go, now you can enjoy spatial audio on your Pixel Fold without having to put any headphones on. We were quite happy with the audio quality during our time with the phone, noticing impressive levels of volume, richness, and oomph coming out of its speakers.

What is spatial audio?

The best way to understand spatial audio is by thinking of it as a simulation of sound that tricks your brain into believing everything your ears are hearing is coming from all directions instead of just from where the screen is. You can call it the VR/AR equivalent that targets your sense of hearing rather than seeing.

Some headphones that support spatial audio also have head-tracking capabilities, which means that sound can shift as you move your head around, making things feel even more realistic.

All of these features were typically achieved in cinemas and home stereo setups, but thanks to some software magic manufacturers and developers can now replicate a similar effect even in gadgets as small as our phones and headphones.