Sonos Adds AirPlay 2 Support to Latest Speakers, Enabling Siri Control and Multi-Room Audio

[MacRumors]

Sonos today announced that its One, Beam, Playbase, and second-generation Play:5 speakers now support AirPlay 2, as promised.

This marks the first time Sonos speakers have supported AirPlay in general, enabling users to easily stream audio from iTunes on Mac, and virtually any app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, including Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, Hulu, Pandora, and Netflix, to compatible Sonos speakers over Wi-Fi.

AirPlay allows for Siri control of Apple Music or Podcasts playback on compatible Sonos speakers via iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, HomePod, and Apple TV. For example, one could say "Hey Siri, play Beats 1 Radio in the bedroom," after the speaker is named and assigned to a room in Apple's Home app on iOS.

AirPlay 2 in particular enables multi-room audio playback for Sonos speakers paired with other Sonos speakers, HomePod, or Apple TVs. Sonos speakers appear in the AirPlay Picker within apps and Control Center on iOS devices.

Sonos said its older speakers do not support AirPlay 2 on their own due to processor limitations, but in the Sonos app, they can be paired with any of the aforementioned speakers to enable support for Apple's new protocol. An older Playbar paired with a Playbase, for example, works with AirPlay 2.

Sonos initially held out on adding AirPlay compatibility to its speakers in part due to minor latency issues addressed by AirPlay 2.

Apple first enabled AirPlay 2 in iOS 11.4, released in late May. Sonos is the first third-party speaker maker to support the protocol, to be followed by Beoplay, Bang & Olufsen, Denon, Libratone, Marantz, Naim, and others.

AirPlay 2 support is available through a free software update via the Sonos Controller companion app on the App Store.

Article Link: Sonos Adds AirPlay 2 Support to Latest Speakers, Enabling Siri Control and Multi-Room Audio

 

[scottlitch]

Does this mean these speakers now show up in the Home app on iOS?

 

[Santabean2000]

Love my Sonos.

 

[oskarbar]

How can a HomePod compete (only Airplay and closed to Apple Music), with this Sonos thas has compatibility for everything?

With this Sonos option in the market, makes no sense to buy the Apple...

 

[Martius]

Wow, that is one pretty nice speaker.

 

[vcboard]

Does this mean these speakers now show up in the Home app on iOS?

Yup

 

[Ludatyk]

Love my Sonos.

Congrats! And to all those who have Sonos speakers that has been listed for AirPlay 2 support. Meanwhile, I have to wait until "September" for Libratone to release support for their Zipp speakers. I guess, I invested in the wrong speakers...

 

[blacktape242]

awesome! im downloading now!

 

[obiwan]

Good move by Sonos. Hopefully these will outsell HomePod by a large margin, so Apple's increasingly closed ecosystem will come back to bite them in the bum.

 

[TimmeyCook]

Sonos is an excellent company.

Instead of b***** that Apple is bad, they just adopt their technologies, and go on with their lives.

They support both Apple, as well as others, like Spotify and Google.

 

[DaveOP]

How can a HomePod compete (only Airplay and closed to Apple Music), with this Sonos thas has compatibility for everything?

With this Sonos option in the market, makes no sense to buy the Apple...

I have no interest in Alexa in my house, anywhere. I do have a Sonos system with a PlayBar and 2xPlay:1, but they won't support Airplay 2. I do think my Homepod sounds much better than my Play:1, and I use the Siri integration all the time. Having both, I don't have any plans to purchase newer Sonos speakers just to support Airplay2, would rather spend the money on another Homepod for stereo. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

[adamjackson]

Well screw me for buying a Play:3 new last year. $255 wasted. Anyone want a used one? Time to buy a HomePod.

 

[doomfront]

Sweet, can't wait to get home and update! Just have to figure out how to set my alarm to wake me up with podcasts now

 

[axantas]

Ok, this makes the crippled Apple HomePod quite obsolete.
Glad I could resist investing in one HomePod. I will get two Sonos Ones then...

 

[sctw]

Just downloaded and streaming spotify thru play 5, base and one. Thank you Sonos.

 

[zombierunner]

and you can buy 2 of em for price of 1 homepod. rip

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

How can a HomePod compete (only Airplay and closed to Apple Music), with this Sonos thas has compatibility for everything?

With this Sonos option in the market, makes no sense to buy the Apple...

Many want Siri rather than Alexa.

Many want better sound quality, which the HomePod offers.

Many will like the looks of the HomePod over Sonos.

Many will want the improved integration that the HomePod offers over Sonos.

There are many other reasons some may choose one over the other. Just because you prefer Sonos doesn't mean the same will be true for everyone else.

 

[DaveOP]

Ok, this makes the crippled Apple HomePod quite obsolete.
Glad I could resist investing in one HomePod. I will get two Sonos Ones then...

What do you think is "crippled" about the Homepod but not about using two Sonos Ones with Airplay 2? They both allow the same apps to Airplay.

 

[Jayne Doe]

OMG! I was so waiting for this. Sitting. Smiling. Controlling playback through watch. Bliss.

 

[morphineseason]

and you can buy 2 of em for price of 1 homepod. rip

That was a limited time offer. MSRP is back to $400 for two of them, though you can still find them deeply discounted on Amazon, eBay, etc.

I would definitely pick this over the HomePod if I do end up getting any smart speaker though.

 

[Remy149]

How can a HomePod compete (only Airplay and closed to Apple Music), with this Sonos thas has compatibility for everything?

With this Sonos option in the market, makes no sense to buy the Apple...

Simple a lot of people like myself only use Apple products and subscribe to Apple Music. You also can’t control Siri directly from a Sonos speaker

 

[MrGIS]

Sonos today announced that its One, Beam, Playbase, and second-generation Play:5 speakers now support AirPlay 2, as promised.

This marks the first time Sonos speakers have supported AirPlay in general, enabling users to easily stream audio from iTunes on Mac, and virtually any app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, including Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, Hulu, Pandora, and Netflix, to compatible Sonos speakers over Wi-Fi.

AirPlay allows for Siri control of Apple Music or Podcasts playback on compatible Sonos speakers via iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, HomePod, and Apple TV. For example, one could say "Hey Siri, play Beats 1 Radio in the bedroom," after the speaker is named and assigned to a room in Apple's Home app on iOS.

AirPlay 2 in particular enables multi-room audio playback for Sonos speakers paired with other Sonos speakers, HomePod, or Apple TVs. Sonos speakers appear in the AirPlay Picker within apps and Control Center on iOS devices.

Sonos said its older speakers do not support AirPlay 2 on their own due to processor limitations, but in the Sonos app, they can be paired with any of the aforementioned speakers to enable support for Apple's new protocol. An older Playbar paired with a Playbase, for example, works with AirPlay 2.

Sonos initially held out on adding AirPlay compatibility to its speakers in part due to minor latency issues addressed by AirPlay 2.

Apple first enabled AirPlay 2 in iOS 11.4, released in late May. Sonos is the first third-party speaker maker to support the protocol, to be followed by Beoplay, Bang & Olufsen, Denon, Libratone, Marantz, Naim, and others.

AirPlay 2 support is available through a free software update via the Sonos Controller companion app on the App Store.

Article Link: Sonos Adds AirPlay 2 Support to Latest Speakers, Enabling Siri Control and Multi-Room Audio

[doublepost=1531322821][/doublepost]Updates installed without issue. Pure Awesomeness..

 

[navaira]

My Play:1 speakers don't appear in iTunes, but I am currently using the Sonos app to stream Apple Music to the speakers using my phone as remote. I don't know whether that was possible before, but I'm liking it.

 

[oskarbar]

Many want Siri rather than Alexa.

You can have both with Sonos

Many want better sound quality, which the HomePod offers.

For the price of 1xHomepod you can buy 2xSonos One, resulting in better sound quality than the Apple option.

Many will like the looks of the HomePod over Sonos.

Ok, not arguing on that. But I would not choose one speaker over the other just for the appareance.

Many will want the improved integration that the HomePod offers over Sonos.

Improved, in which terms? Sonos is now integrated in Apple ecosystem with the Airplay2 capability.

There are many other reasons some may choose one over the other. Just because you prefer Sonos doesn't mean the same will be true for everyone else.

Of course that I dont think in absolute terms, each person and its necessities are different in each case, but if you analyze what you get for your money, the Sonos option IMO is more balanced option by far.

 

[The Game 161]

No doubt this could hurt HomePod sales...