No Airplay 2 for Playbar. GUTTED !!!!!

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a playbar v2 by holidays. Hopefully with hdmi.

I would think also all new Sonos speakers will always have Alexa and google

I would think also all new Sonos speakers will always have Alexa and google

Well, almost all. I don't foresee any new Subs or Boost with Alexa built in. A playbase might not physically have a good spot for mics either, not sure.

Having recently purchased the playbar it is somewhat disappointing, but frankly not surprising given the age of the hardware design that it is not supported. Whilst it would be nice to have support for Airplay 2 natively in the existing hardware, it is nice to know that the overall ecosystem will still benefit via a One or Play 5. Must admit that If I’d realised there were fundamental hardware differences (beyond form factor) between the playbar and playbase with hindsight I’d have purchased the latter. But to be frank i fully expected to be upgrading the playbar once the inevitable HDMI equipped version (or substitute) comes out anyway. I’d factored that into my longer term ‘sonos’ plan. Yes I spent the money and expected to be dissapointed about the future proofness of the current model, but I am nontheless enjoying the benefits whilst I await a new model to be released. A new one can join the HT setup and the old one can move to another room and used as a ‘bumb’ speaker. More sonos in the house can only be a good thing 🙂

Great discussion everyone. Thanks for staying friendly!

Just like with laptops and mobile phones, sophisticated new features sometimes require new hardware. For example, adding voice to Sonos required us to build a microphone into Sonos One. However - because of the way we’ve built Sonos, adding just one Sonos device with voice capability means you can now control your whole system with voice, even those speakers without microphones that we first released many years ago.

AirPlay 2 works in a similar way. The computing platforms and software architecture in some of the older Sonos players like Play:3 and Play:1 simply don’t have the horsepower to support AirPlay 2, and we also have to make sure that introducing new features doesn’t impact the current experience across the system. It all comes down to the hardware and software requirements that the protocol demands of the devices that are going to act as targets or receivers for the Airplay 2 stream. The Playbar doesn't meet those requirements.

However, when you group one of these speakers with other, more recent Sonos devices, you bring AirPlay content to your entire Sonos system. Other's have mentioned this already in the thread, but what this means is you can use an Airplay 2 supported Sonos device to play to with other Sonos players in the home, just like any other audio source that's playing. It won't function quite like the line in though, you'll need to have the Airplay 2 stream going to the one room and group it with any others.

Also, there are some TVs out there which offer Airplay 2 functionality which can act as receivers for the Airplay stream, or you can use the Apple TV device itself hooked to the TV. Then it'll be playing right to your Playbar without the device being capable of receiving the signal directly.

While development was ongoing with Airplay 2 (and for that matter with any software development), we didn't want to give away too many details. When it comes down to it, software development is often a moving target and in the early stages, it's hard to say where things will land exactly. It was never our intent to be misleading with any early messaging around this, and our official message has been pretty consistently vague. We try not to share too much early on for just this reason when we talk about new things. With the Airplay 2 integration, you will be able to target any of the newer Sonos devices, and from there, group and play to all Sonos players out there (including our first ever produced players).

I can't share all the Airplay 2 details today, but I'm happy to try and answer the questions I can.

That may be the first official confirmation that it will work much like Playbar and TV. You have to have the device playing in order to group to play to others. It will not serve from the speaker without playing.

That may be the first official confirmation that it will work much like Playbar and TV. You have to have the device playing in order to group to play to others. It will not serve from the speaker without playing.

That's also in the blog post that was put up last week here:

We’re making great progress. Today, we’re confirming that newer Sonos speakers like Play:5, Playbase and Sonos One will support AirPlay 2, as will future Sonos products. When you group one of these Airplay-enabled speakers with older Sonos devices, you can bring AirPlay capabilities to your entire Sonos system.

But I might have said it a little more in depth.

I recently dove into the Sonos system, and have speakers in every room. As a recent purchaser, I am disappointed that hardware I purchased in the last 6 months does not support the latest software. In the case of the Play 1, I understand it being omitted as an upgraded model (One) is available. The Playbar on the other hand, is still being marketed as the "latest" and best offering, at the same price point as the Playbase, which I feel is a tad unfair. I am reserving my full reaction until a new Playbar is announced and/or airplay 2 support is live on the other products and I see if I even miss it.

Is it not clear that which speakers will have Airplay 2 is a technical issue not a marketing issue? And that Sonos are looking to provide a workaround for older speakers. Why are people whingeing about this free upgrade? And the One is not an upgrade of the Play:1. Ridiculous.

I guess you're missing my point: The Playbar costs the same as the Playbase, but has a hidden software deficiency. Continuing to sell the old Playbar model without a price drop is unfair.