Samsung announced its partnership with Apple at CES 2019.
Additionally, In order to control multiple speakers/devices via your PC you'll need iTunes 12.8 or greater, or a Mac with macOS Catalina or later. That is you can stream to it from your device.
If you have an Apple TV (2015) or the Apple TV 4K running TVOS 11.4 or greater, it can also act as an AirPlay 2 endpoint.
Any device that runs Apple iOS 12 or later should be compatible with AirPlay 2. The latest version of iOS 15 includes both multiroom capabilities and HomePod stereo pairing. But AirPlay 2 is designed to work with recent iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. The two main pieces of Apple hardware that are specifically AirPlay 2 compatible are the Apple TV and the Apple HomePod devices. Which Apple devices do you need to use AirPlay? This means that everyone can be the DJ at your next house party (provided everyone has their own Apple Music subscription first.) Spotify can also do this: It's called Group Session but it doesn't require the use of AirPlay, and you can be in different countries.ĪirPlay 2 allows you to pair two HomePods and group speakers. More recently Apple added the ability for multiple people to share control of a music queue. AirPlay 2 also allows you to ask Siri, Apple's voice assistant on the speaker and other devices, to play music in a particular room or throughout the house. AirPlay 2 unlocked several features of the speaker, including multiroom and stereo pairing (the ability to use separate HomePods as left and right speakers). Though AirPlay 2 was announced before the Apple HomePod, the two quickly become synonymous. Pressing either of these will bring up a list of devices on your network which you can then stream to.
There are two main icons for AirPlay and will vary according to which app you're using: the video icon (a TV with an Arrow), and audio (radiating circles). The main difference is that older AirPlay devices won't be included in multiroom groups. In addition, with iOS 14.6 and up, users can AirPlay songs from Apple in lossless from iPhone to the HomePod and Mini.ĪirPlay 2 is backward-compatible and works the same way as the original: Hit the AirPlay icon on your phone, iPad or Mac to play your content on available speakers or video devices. You could use it to call up a song on your iPhone and play it in multiple rooms simultaneously, or pick and choose which AirPlay speaker to stream to. Not only that, but making music playback possible from wherever you are in the house.ĪirPlay 2 adds the ability to stream music to multiple audio devices all at the same time. While this made it comparable to Bluetooth audio streaming, AirPlay also generally sounded better, thanks to the wider bandwidth that Wi-Fi provides.įrom its inception Apple has maintained that AirPlay 2 would be "built throughout iOS," enabling users to play music from the Apple Music app as well as third-party apps. Previously AirPlay was a one-to-one protocol, from your phone to a compatible speaker, AV receiver or other piece of gear. You can use it to mirror an iPhone or Mac on another screen (great for sharing video and pictures) you can stream video from a compatible app to a TV (Netflix, Hulu etc) and you can stream audio to speakers. Google Chromecast vs Apple AirPlay: Which is better for streaming from your phone?ĪirPlay 2 has a number of different uses.
How to stream Apple Fitness Plus workouts on your TV with AirPlay.How to connect your laptop to your TV wirelessly or with HDMI.The Sonos One joined the HomePod as one of the first AirPlay 2 devices. How does AirPlay 2 differ from the Apple's original wireless protocol, and what can you stream it on? Let's break it down. Since the debut of the first AirPlay 2 device in 2018 - Apple's own HomePod - the number of devices that work with AirPlay has expanded dramatically to include TVs, Roku streaming devices, AV receivers and speakers. The upgraded AirPlay 2 system expands these capabilities to include many more devices made by other manufacturers, and adds the potential for whole-house entertainment. The original Apple AirPlay is a proprietary system for streaming audio or video from one Apple source - typically an iPhone, iPad or a Mac computer - to another device over a home network. Are you sick of watching videos on a tiny screen? Or do want to play your music over your stereo instead? Apple's AirPlay 2 allows you to do this and more, and it's baked right into every iPhone and Mac.