Airplay 2 questions

If you’ve read the press release, you have as much concrete data as we do. That being said, here’s my take on answers to your questions.

1) Most likely, yes. If Sonos was able to figure out a way to make the WiFi cards from 10 years ago work with the data bandwidth and frequency necessary, they probably would have. This is most likely not a money grab from Sonos. That would be counter to everything in their history.

2) No one knows at this point, except perhaps the Sonos engineers.

I am _so_ steamed at Sonos. Earlier this year (_this year_, 2018), I spoke with someone from Sonos about whether to get a Play:1 or a newer Sonos One speaker. The Sonos rep told me that the upcoming AirPlay 2 would work on _all_ Sonos products, and so I went ahead and bought three (3) new Play:1 speakers, instead of Sonos One speakers. Now, I'm told that, too bad, AirPlay 2 will _not_ work on any of the Play:1s I own, even the ones I bought brand new in this calendar year. I really feel ripped off. and I'm afraid that before I start buying Sonos One speakers, I'm going to have to reevaluate my investment in Sonos products. Maybe it's time to look for a different company to deal with.

It will work on all Sonos products, with the simple fact that you must have one of the three specified speakers to act as a receiver for the AirPlay 2 signal.

@Airgetlam: You can do the AirPlay 2 only in a _group_ that contains at least one of the three specified speakers. So if you own 7 Sonos Play:1 speakers, each in a different room, you would have to buy a newer speaker to pair with each existing speaker to get AirPlay.2 in every room. So, it's not like you'd just have to buy one new speaker -- you'd need one for each "group."

If you're on a Mac, check out the $8.99 app AudioBridge. Run it on one Mac, and all Macs and I-devices on the same wireless network will be able to send from any app to any Sonos device(s). Sure is cheaper than buying all new Sonos speakers.

If you're on a Mac, check out the $8.99 app AudioBridge. Run it on one Mac, and all Macs and I-devices on the same wireless network will be able to send from any app to any Sonos device(s). Sure is cheaper than buying all new Sonos speakers.

Note that it's using an old version of my bridge (0.1.3.0 where I'm now at 0.2.0.6). The dev does not seem to update it. It's a nice and user friendly packaging around AirConnect, but I've made a lot of improvements since.

1) Most likely, yes. If Sonos was able to figure out a way to make the WiFi cards from 10 years ago work with the data bandwidth and frequency necessary, they probably would have. This is most likely not a money grab from Sonos. That would be counter to everything in their history.

Purely a speculation from me, but one should also take into consideration the cost & difficulty of adding something complex to a legacy firmware that might not be so well known anymore. I'm not sure I would blame them either for pushing a bit their users to new devices. That's just business and we tend to take too much for granted that when we buy a device, software updates will come forever and for free. Well, hardware updates do not, why should software ones do all the time? Software development is not free.

So, it's not like you'd just have to buy one new speaker -- you'd need one for each "group."

I'm confused as to why you couldn't just include the one Sonos speaker that can receive AirPlay 2 in the group that you're currently playing. Or are you suggesting the possibility that you've got 3 separate AirPlay 2 streams playing in 3 groups at the same time? I suppose that's possible, albeit I'd consider it unlikely. But sure, in that situation, you'd need an AirPlay 2 capable speaker as part of each group.

So, it's not like you'd just have to buy one new speaker -- you'd need one for each "group."

I'm confused as to why you couldn't just include the one Sonos speaker that can receive AirPlay 2 in the group that you're currently playing. Or are you suggesting the possibility that you've got 3 separate AirPlay 2 streams playing in 3 groups at the same time? I suppose that's possible, albeit I'd consider it unlikely. But sure, in that situation, you'd need an AirPlay 2 capable speaker as part of each group.

The thing with Airplay is that it's a relatively seamless "quick-fix" for when doing random things that might not be supported by one of the existing apps (ie. the Sonos controller app, or spotify connect via the spotify app, etc.). You hit a button on your phone, and it just plays on the speaker (no need to switch apps, pair/unpair, etc.). I don't want to have to go into the Sonos App, and then pair the Sonos One in the Bathroom with the 1st-gen Play:5 in the bedroom, then airplay to the combined group... just so I can get Airplay audio from a youtube video without having to walk to the bathroom.

I don't understand why Sonos doesn't simply let the Sonos One on my network relay the audio to the Play 5. It already works this way with the Play:5's Aux Line-in (ie. my Play:1's on the other side of the house can play audio from the Play:5's line in, because it relays the audio signal without the need for any grouping), and relaying the audio signals between speakers is the entire purpose of Sonos' system. If only the newer products are capable of processing the Airplay 2 signal, then let them process it and relay the resulting audio signal to the older speakers without the confusing need for the user to have to group them, IMO.

I don't understand why Sonos doesn't simply let the Sonos One on my network relay the audio to the Play 5. It already works this way with the Play:5's Aux Line-in.
That is indeed how I thought it would work. I don't know where @CandaceSoVan is getting the information that it will only work when speakers are grouped.

(In the meantime, if you have the know-how to set it up, AirConnect -- https://github.com/philippe44/AirConnect -- works today, with any Sonos device, using Airplay 1 direct to the device.)