Essentials

Audio

Updated: Apr 6, 2026

Sound is one of the most powerful tools you have for creating presence in VR. A well-designed audio experience makes virtual environments feel real, guides user attention, and communicates information that visuals alone cannot. On Meta Quest, spatial audio is processed at the OS level, giving your app access to 3D-positioned sound without building your own audio pipeline.

Spatial audio

Spatial audio positions sounds in 3D space around the user. When a character speaks to your left, you hear them from the left. When footsteps approach from behind, the sound moves toward you. This is achieved through head-related transfer functions (HRTFs) that simulate how sound reaches each ear differently based on direction and distance.

Key capabilities:

3D sound positioning — Place audio sources anywhere in your scene with accurate directionality

Distance attenuation — Sounds get quieter as the user moves away, matching real-world behavior

Room acoustics — Simulate reverb, echo, and material absorption based on the virtual environment

Head tracking integration — Sound field updates in real time as the user moves and looks around

Ambisonics — 360-degree ambient soundscapes for immersive background audio

Spatial audio significantly increases perceived immersion. Users consistently rate apps with well-implemented spatial audio as more “realistic” and “present” than visually identical apps with stereo audio.

Meta XR Audio SDK

The Meta XR Audio SDK provides ready-to-use components for spatial audio rendering, room acoustics modeling, and sound propagation. It handles the complex math of HRTFs and environmental modeling so you can focus on sound design.

Features include:

Acoustic ray tracing — Simulate how sound bounces off walls, floors, and objects

Material-based absorption — Different surfaces absorb and reflect sound differently (carpet vs. concrete vs. glass)

Reverb zones — Define acoustic properties for different areas of your scene

Occlusion and obstruction — Sounds are muffled when a wall or object blocks the path between source and listener

Dolby Atmos

Meta Quest supports Dolby Atmos for apps that need object-based immersive audio. Dolby Atmos adds height channels and object-based positioning on top of traditional surround sound, enabling audio that moves in full 3D space.

Supported formats:

Dolby Digital (AC-3) — 5.1 surround sound

Dolby Digital Plus (E-AC-3) — Enhanced surround with spatial audio support

Dolby Atmos (E-AC-3 JOC) — Full object-based immersive audio (recommended)

Dolby Atmos is enabled by default for supported content, so users with compatible media will hear spatial audio automatically. It works especially well for media playback apps, cinematic experiences, and music apps where audio fidelity is a key differentiator.

HDR video formats

Meta Quest supports high dynamic range video playback for media apps that want to deliver richer visuals. Available formats:

HDR10 — Static metadata HDR

HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) — Broadcast-compatible HDR

Dolby Vision Profile 20 — Dynamic metadata HDR with Dolby’s tone mapping

HDR support pairs with Dolby Atmos audio to deliver a premium media experience. If your app plays video content, consider supporting both HDR video and spatial audio for the highest quality.

Voice input

Voice input enables hands-free interaction through speech recognition. Users can issue commands, dictate text, or control your app without using their hands — useful for accessibility and situations where the user’s hands are occupied.

Key capabilities:

System voice commands — Horizon OS provides built-in voice commands for system-level actions like opening the universal menu

In-app speech recognition — Use the platform’s speech-to-text APIs to convert spoken input into text for search, dictation, or command processing

Voice as complementary input — Combine voice with hand tracking or controllers for multimodal interactions (for example, pointing at an object and saying “delete”)

For more on designing voice as an input modality, see the Input page.

Audio capture

Audio capture allows your app to record microphone input for voice chat, recording features, or speech processing.

Key considerations:

Permissions — Your app must request the android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO permission before accessing the microphone

User awareness — Communicate clearly to users when recording is active, using a visible indicator

Social apps — For voice chat in multiplayer experiences, use the platform’s voice chat APIs to handle echo cancellation and noise suppression

Privacy — Follow Meta’s data use policies for any audio data your app captures or transmits

Audio focus

Horizon OS manages audio priority between apps and system sounds. When multiple audio sources compete, the system uses audio focus to determine which app’s audio plays and which gets ducked (lowered in volume) or paused.

Requesting focus — Your app should request audio focus before playing sound and release it when done

Handling focus loss — Respond gracefully when the system takes focus away (for example, when a notification plays or the user opens the system menu)

Transient ducking — Short system sounds temporarily lower your app’s volume rather than pausing it