Apologies if this has already been discussed, but I just confirmed something pretty awesome about the AirPod (and *hopefully* other AirPlay 2 compatible devices).
If you play music via the iOS Music app and then choose the AirPod as an AirPlay destination, the AirPod will start playing this music *independently* of the iPhone. Apparently, the HomePod streams the music from the cloud. In contrast, AirPlay 1 would simply stream the music directly from your phone.
Why is this important? A couple of reasons:
1) If you start music playing in a couple of rooms (say during a party) and then you leave or do something else with your phone, the music won't just stop playing.
2) With AirPlay 1, streaming would stutter *all the time*, especially when using the iPhone for other purposes or if you strayed too far from Wifi.
3) Presumably other iOS devices will then be able to pause/skip/play and otherwise control the playlist after you've queued it up. Compare this with AirPlay 1, where every other user would just be 'locked out' of that AirPlay device while you were using it.
I think this is a pretty big deal for full home audio control. It also explains why Apple hasn't upgraded the iTunes remote app in years - they had bigger plans.
There's one other piece that needs to fall into place to make this a perfect full audio solution for me - Apple either has to release an AirPlay 2 update for the AirPort Express, or provide some other AirPlay 2 solution with audio out for rooms with existing amps. I have speakers in my back yard, for example, hooked up to an AirPort Express. HomePod doesn't work for this use case.
If you play music via the iOS Music app and then choose the AirPod as an AirPlay destination, the AirPod will start playing this music *independently* of the iPhone. Apparently, the HomePod streams the music from the cloud. In contrast, AirPlay 1 would simply stream the music directly from your phone.
Why is this important? A couple of reasons:
1) If you start music playing in a couple of rooms (say during a party) and then you leave or do something else with your phone, the music won't just stop playing.
2) With AirPlay 1, streaming would stutter *all the time*, especially when using the iPhone for other purposes or if you strayed too far from Wifi.
3) Presumably other iOS devices will then be able to pause/skip/play and otherwise control the playlist after you've queued it up. Compare this with AirPlay 1, where every other user would just be 'locked out' of that AirPlay device while you were using it.
I think this is a pretty big deal for full home audio control. It also explains why Apple hasn't upgraded the iTunes remote app in years - they had bigger plans.
There's one other piece that needs to fall into place to make this a perfect full audio solution for me - Apple either has to release an AirPlay 2 update for the AirPort Express, or provide some other AirPlay 2 solution with audio out for rooms with existing amps. I have speakers in my back yard, for example, hooked up to an AirPort Express. HomePod doesn't work for this use case.
