So the lesson is: only Apple, all the time. Multi-room audio and AirPlay 2 are very exciting, but there's another feature that HomePod and the HomePod Mini can pull off thanks to AirPlay 2. Where both Siri and the HomePod itself are rather less useful is when you step outside the Apple Music bubble. You can either stream to one speaker compatible with AirPlay 1, or you can stream to one or more speakers compatible with AirPlay 2. Here's how to do it: 1. As a standalone speaker Apple's HomePod Mini is likely more at home in a kitchen, but a pair of Minis working in stereo is a great, affordable, living room option. With AirPlay 2, which arrived at the start of 2018, iPhone users can send music to several speakers at once and control them as one, or adjust their volume levels independently. However, it’s only the latest Sonos speakers – the One (both generations), Beam, Amp, Move, Arc, Five and Play:5 (2nd-gen) – that are officially able to stream music using AirPlay 2… This means you can use them in HomeKit’s Scenes to play audio in addition to adjusting the lights. No, for ‘true’ stereo sound you need two speakers. Sonos One (Gen 2) The Sonos One is a market leader for a reason. Learn more. So, if you have multiple AirPlay 2 compatible speakers, you can take the utmost advantage of this feature to rev up your music time. AirPlay 2 integrated with HomeKit, so that speakers can attach themselves to different rooms. @bryanmwolfe, Amazon has the Apple Watch down to as low as $169, Denon HEOS HomeCinema HS2 Wireless Soundbar, These awesome soundbars work with AirPlay 2 and HomeKit, Trick out your Versa 2 with these cool products, Cuddle close with your favorite Animal Crossing: New Horizon pal. Get the full picture on Apple TV 4K. It's the same little button that appears and, from Control Center, you can also mirror your iPhone or iPad's display. Don't believe us? Animal Crossing has become a global phenomenon, and as a result, dedicated creators have designed special Animal Crossing stuffed animals for all to enjoy. You can also create a multi-room wireless speaker setup using Amazon's Alexa Echo smart speaker range, as well as setting up a multi-room system with Google Home and the Assistant. Another great smart speaker, when Sonos launched its first voice-controlled speaker the main talking-point (pun intended) was built-in Amazon Alexa. In terms of physical connections, the Wedge has just an Ethernet socket - everything else happens wirelessly. Crucially, it's also a more wallet-friendly option that its stablemate, coming with a $129.99 price-tag - that's a $50 saving compared to the bigger option. Sonos Beam is a compact soundbar that plugs into your TV via HDMI-ARC and is also equipped with AirPlay 2 support. The HomePod also has Siri built in, unlike any of the other speakers on this list. The cheapest ticket to Apple's multi-room audio setup, the HomePod Mini is the best sounding 'mini' smart speaker now available, with an audio performance that far exceeds its diddy nature. Bass and treble can be manually adjusted too, in case you don’t trust an automated process. When you choose your speaker you'll hear your music played back from it, and you can use any onboard speaker controls to skip songs, change the volume and the like. Stereo pair treats two HomePods as one, pairing them both up to give you bigger, richer sound. In the market for a new wireless smart speaker but waiting to see what speakers will support the multiroom functionality of Airplay 2? The HomePod sound is delivered by a total of seven beam-forming tweeters arrayed in a circle, along with an upward-firing 102mm long-throw mid/bass driver. So how do you improve on that when the time for the second iteration rolls around? With AirPlay 2, you can "throw" audio from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac to a receiving device, such as a speaker, and it stays in-sync as you move from room to room. AirPlay 2 is an incredibly easy way to send the tunes from your devices to speakers all around the home wirelessly. On the iOS device, swipe down from the upper-right corner of the screen to view the music control panel. Bose is the ‘boss’ when it comes to dynamic, high-definition audio output. The Sonos One sounds like the product of a company that knows exactly what it’s doing. The bass is there, especially if you use a relevant pre-set EQ, but it overshadows the treble at loud volumes. And, of course, the fact that this is a stereo pair makes positioning them for optimum sound just a little bit more exciting that just plonking a speaker on a shelf. Smooth and full-bodied, but deft and detailed at the same time, these little boxes are capable of frankly unlikely scale and dynamic variation. It even works the same way as multi-room audio works on iOS with AirPlay 2. Wait no more as Sonos has confirmed Airplay 2 support is coming later this year to a selection of its newer speakers via a free software update. Select Create stereo pair.4. Speakers with 'Works with Apple AirPlay' on the speaker packaging You can stream only audio from Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD using AirPlay. This unique speaker is sure to catch the eye of guests. The likes of Samsung, Sony, Vizio and LG are all involved - you can check out a full list of compatible AirPlay 2 TVs here. The speaker itself is Bluetooth, as mentioned (4.2 if you're wondering) and is both Apple AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect compatible. Some features, like creating a stereo pair from two wireless speakers, are only possible using AirPlay 2. A sender is an Apple device that's capable of playing media back and sending it to another device – think iPhones, iPads and Macs. Let's start with the simplest AirPlay operation. In terms of portability and functionality, there are indeed so many things to appreciate about this speaker. And AirPlay 2 works on a number of Sonos speakers - so if you own a second-gen Play:5, Playbase or the more recent Beam soundbar, you have an AirPlay 2-ready system. As long as you have one of the AirPlay 2 supported speakers, you can connect the rest of your Sonos system and pipe your favorite tunes throughout the entire house. Judged purely on audio quality, it’s hands-down the best speaker on this list - and with Bluetooth, digital optical, USB and 3.5mm analogue methods of getting music into the Naim, it’s not short of facilities either. More than a remarkable way to use AirPlay, Apple TV 4K is the … More than a remarkable way to use AirPlay, Apple TV 4K is the … Here's our picks for the best options around. From the AirPlay logo in iTunes, you can select multiple speakers and have them all playing in harmony. On top there are touch-sensitive buttons and a nicely tactile control wheel - and, uniquely, this AirPlay 2 speaker comes with a remote control. Bowers & Wilkins’ latest foray into the world of wireless multi-room audio has quite a number of elements in the range, but the outstanding product in the Formation series, for quite a number of reasons, is the Wedge. Penn State (go Nittany Lions) graduate here, also a huge fan of the New England Patriots. Keep reading… How to Play Audio to Multiple Speakers with AirPlay 2 from iPhone, iPad, Mac/PC and Apple TV. Given the way it looks, it’s not surprising there has been a lot of comparing and contrasting going on between the Sonos One and the Apple HomePod. Thanks for reading. However, load the same YouTube URL on Chrome and the option is gone (replaced by a Chromecast logo, the sneaky so-and-sos). Say you were playing a lot of Dua Lipa, but your friend wanted to get their Ariana Grande on, they could just start queuing up their own songs. sending over audio and video to recipient AirPlay devices – but it's limited to native Apple apps like iTunes, QuickTime and Safari. The Roku Streambar is a brilliant sounding speaker for its diminutive size and it does a great job in smaller rooms and adds a lot of depth to the audio arrangement. It comes in several color options. Ignore what an incredible faff setting them up is (the KEF app is no one’s idea of a finished article) and instead concentrate on the results. I'm a dad who loves technology, especially anything new from Apple. Beneath that ribbed, contoured full-width grille are two tweeters, two FST midrange drivers and a central woofer - they’re powered by a total of 240 watts, which makes the Wedge plenty powerful enough for most real-world applications. Happily, the audio quality will not disappoint. It delivers rich sound with deep bass, full midrange, crisp highs, and more. Finally, Apple has a viable method of getting some whole-house, multi-room, wireless functionality from a whole host of speakers, TVs and the like. Both of the speakers can be controlled through the Sonos app and both support AirPlay 2, allowing them to be used for multi-room audio with other ‌AirPlay‌ 2 devices. If you're reading this, then the chances are high that you use an Apple device that is capable of AirPlay 2, so to take your tunes to the next level, you need one of the best AirPlay 2 speakers. As per a regular streaming stick, it puts a selection of streaming apps onto a single input on your TV, but it can also make your non-Roku TV experience better, whether from a cable box or your smart TV platform's native apps as it's HDMI ARC compliant; it can pass back audio from any source back through the soundbar. Here, we’ve rounded up the best pound-for-pound AirPlay speakers on the market. Note: iOS devices cannot stream to both AirPlay 1 and AirPlay 2 speakers simultaneously. AirPlay is evolving quickly, rivaling the likes of Chromecast for casting videos, and Sonos for multi-room music. Quite a few of the speakers in this list make a big deal about their ability to produce ‘true’ stereo sound. The Sonos One is the least expensive of the four supported speakers, so if you don't already have one, you can pick one up on Amazon and add it to your Sonos system. The Sonos Five is one of the best speakers on the market and delivers big and powerful sound through six amplifiers and six dedicated speaker drivers. AirPlay 2’s big advantage is multi-room audio - so you can beam to multiple speakers at the same time. To use Siri to play and control video on a smart TV, you need an AirPlay 2-compatible smart TV that supports HomeKit. You can either stream to one speaker compatible with AirPlay 1, or you can stream to one or more speakers compatible with AirPlay 2. It’s taken a while for AirPlay 2 to make it into quite of few third-party manufacturers’ products. From an iOS device you can also also stream visuals – think photos and videos from your stream, and movies from iTunes and third-party apps – to an Apple TV or AirPlay 2-compatible smart TV. Note: iOS devices cannot stream to both AirPlay 1 and AirPlay 2 speakers simultaneously. First launched waaaaay back in 2004 – but called AirTunes at the time and pretty limited by today's standards – AirPlay as we know it now wasn't announced by the Cupertino giant until 2010. Click on one HomePod.3. On the whole, given this is a speaker destined for kitchens and bedrooms, the sound quality is good. This is especially great for home cinema setups where you want some booming sounds to go with your rewatches of The Last Jedi. Dimensions: HxWxD (cm): 17 x 8.8 … Even though AirPlay 2... Sonos One. Especially when you consider what a small and unassuming device the HomePod is. Sonos remains the preeminent brand in wireless and/or multi-room audio, and the One simply adds a layer of Alexa to the Sonos Play: 1 template. If ever a speaker was born for AirPlay 2, Apple’s HomePod smart speaker is it. Get the full picture on Apple TV 4K. You can, however, mirror your entire Mac display using the AirPlay logo in the top bar. General latencies during playback become eliminated. The price will be even more divisive. The Formation Wedge may have all the functionality of any other reasonably expensive wireless speaker, but it makes such a strong aesthetic statement - especially in the sliver/white finish - that it’s possible some people will buy into it on looks alone. Sonos added Apple’s AirPlay 2 to the mix pretty quickly after Apple set it live. They’re punchy, they’re refined, they’re alert to the finest details… and, of course, they’re capable of serving up a much more convincing impression of stereo sound than any of the other speakers in this list. You can also ask Siri on any of your Apple devices to play music on any AirPlay 2 speaker in your home. The audio quality here sounds like a full-on concert experience, as it offers 4500 watts and frequency ranges of 14Hz to 27kHz and 108 dB. 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