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AirPlay, Apple’s proprietary wireless streaming protocol, has been around a lot longer than you might expect. Indeed, AirTunes, the earliest incarnation of AirPlay, was launched in 2004, three years before the first iPhone even hit the market.
AirPlay as we know it was introduced in 2010 in iOS 4, and remained unchanged for several years, before finally receiving a major update in the form ofAirPlay 2in 2017.
Best AirPlay receivers: Turn any speaker into a wireless audio powerhouse
AirPlay is one of the simplest ways to cast audio from your devices, but not every speaker supports it. These receivers, however, can change that.
Apple AirPlay has always allowed users to instantly share audio, video, or images between your iPhone,iPad, Mac,Apple TV, or another AirPlay-enabled device. With AirPlay 2, more features have been added, alongside more comprehensive controls.
Apple’s HomePod and HomePod mini speakers also use the protocol, and with AirPlay 2, it’s possible to enjoy multi-room audio, or even to stream different music to different speakers.
Here’s all you need to know about the original AirPlay and how AirPlay 2 improves it.
Apple AirPlay 2 vs AirPlay: What are the differences?
In a nutshell…
AirPlay, which debuted in 2010 as an evolution of AirTunes, is a protocol developed by Apple that allows wireless streaming fromApple devicesover Wi-Fi. Apple has also since licensed AirPlay to manufacturers for them to use in their products in order to be compatible with AirPlay. In 2017, Apple announced AirPlay 2, an update to the protocol, and it brought additional features, including support for multi-room audio.
Compared to Bluetooth audio streaming, AirPlay can stream across much larger distances, limited only by the extent of the Wi-Fi network being used. AirPlay also takes advantage of the wider bandwidth that Wi-Fi provides, allowing for higher-quality streams.
As for the AirPlay 2 update, it adds the ability to stream music to multiple audio devices simultaneously. You could use it to cue a song on youriPhoneand play it in multiple rooms around the house at the same time, or choose which AirPlay speaker to stream to in your house.
You can even stream different songs to different speakers simultaneously.
AirPlay 2 was announced before the originalHomePodwas even released, but AirPlay 2 unlocks many features in the speaker and its bite-sized companion,the HomePod Mini, including multi-room and stereo pairing (the ability to use separate HomePods as left and right speakers). It will also let you askSirito play music in a specific room or throughout the house. AirPlay 2 is also “built throughout iOS”, so you’re able to play music to select speakers right fromApple Musicor theHomeapp.
Any third-party apps using the AirPlay 2 audio toolkit will let you do the same thing. Another cool AirPlay 2 feature is the ability to create a shared “up next” playlist, or multi-user playlists right within Apple Music. So, with AirPlay 2 and Apple Music, if you’re streaming a playlist from your iPhone, your friends can add their own music to the mix directly from their own iPhones. You even take an incoming call or play a game on your device without interrupting the music, which wasn’t possible with the original AirPlay.
Apple AirPlay 2 vs AirPlay: How do you control it?
The original AirPlay worked fine but had some limitations. AirPlay 2, on the other hand, is built throughout iOS. You can pick a song and control the volume of your AirPlay 2‑enabled speaker from the Control Center, the Music app, the Home app, the Lock screen, or via in‑app controls on your Apple devices. You can also ask Siri to play songs, something that wasn’t possible with the original AirPlay. All you need to do is ask for the song and room, and the rest happens like magic. You’re not restricted to using Siri with the HomePod either, as Siri commands work with other third-party speakers as well.
If you have one of the more recent Apple TVs, you can use it to send audio to speakers around your home, rather than just coming from your iPhone or iPad. Any supported speakers that are connected to the Apple TV, be it a soundbar or speaker system, will become AirPlay 2 speakers. You can also send audio from your iPhone orMacto your Apple TV and your other speakers simultaneously.
Speaker differences
When you play music from your iOS device using AirPlay 2, you may select which speakers the audio plays through, and control the individual volumes of those speakers. All you need to do is open the Control Center by swiping down from the top-right of the iPhone Home screen.
Which Apple devices support AirPlay 2?
AirPlay works on all older iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs.
You’ll need to be running iOS 4.2 or higher. AirPlay 2 is compatible with the more recent iPhones, iPads, and Mac computers, including iPhones with iOS 11.4 or later, Apple TVs running tvOS 11.4 or later, and Macs running macOS Cataline or later.
AirPlay 2 works on iPhones from the iPhone 5S and onward, the 2017 iPad or newer, any iPad Air, any iPad Pro, and the iPad Mini 2 or later. It also works on the Apple TV 4K or Apple TV HD, the Apple iPod Touch 2015 (sixth generation), and both theHomePodandHomePod Mini.
Which third-party devices offer AirPlay 2?
AirPlay was supported on several older speakers and soundbars from third-party manufacturers. AirPlay 2 was more restricted at launch but is now widely adopted. Brands offering support include Sonos, Denon and Marantz, Bose, Bang and Olufsen, Beats, Naim, Devialet, Dynaudio, Polk, McIntosh, Bowers & Wilkins, Libratone, Definitive Technology, and Bluesound, among others.
Best Sonos speakers: Audiophile tested and reviewed
From the portable Sonos Roam to the impressive Sonos Arc, this is an audiophile’s guide to the best Sonos speakers.
Not every product from these brands is compatible, however. For instance, newer Sonos speakers, including theSonos Era 100, Era 300, Arc, Sonos One, Move, and Roam support AirPlay 2. However, older Sonos players like the Play:3 and Play:1 don’t. Meanwhile, some manufacturers, like Naim and Libratone, simply run a software update on their speakers to benefit from AirPlay 2 features.
You can find a full list of AirPlay-enabled speakerson Apple’s website.
Apple AirPlay 2 vs AirPlay: Which should you use?
Following the update, AirPlay 2 opens up a whole world of multi-room streaming capabilities that were previously not available on the iPhone or iPad, such as controlling multiple speakers, which, up until AirPlay 2 launched, you were only able to do on the MacBook. Controlling playback with AirPlay 2 is almost much easier thanks the integration of AirPlay from iOS 11.4 onwards. Unless you own a pre-2010 iPhone or Mac, you can take advantage of the additional features of AirPlay 2.
It’s not just iPhone owners that benefit though, as AirPlay 2 also brings with it multi-room playback for the HomePod and HomePod Mini.
