AirPlay 2 when?

Going on the basis of 'backward compatibility', I think all old AirPlay v1 devices will continue to play just standalone.

However, my thoughts are that all the new AirPlay-2 devices will be capable of being grouped together. It’s just a 'standard' that all manufacturers will have to adhere to in order to use the AirPlay 2 logo on their packaging.

It’s quite plausible that one device in the group will be selected as a 'master' and the others will become its 'slave'... hence there is a need for a greater hardware requirement. That’s perhaps why only the newer Sonos devices will be truly AirPlay-2 compatible, because they have the hardware capability to be a master audio-controlling device, looking after the required audio buffering and network syncing mechanisms

I don’t know if any of this is true by the way, but that’s my guess and that all AirPlay-2 devices, upto a certain limit/number, will be capable of playing together in perfect sync.

Only time will tell, but that image posted above by jordn613, is showing two AirPlay-2 devices selected at the same time in the list, so why would a Sonos AirPlay Speaker be treated any differently to those?

Has Apple even gotten Airplay 2 grouping working yet? 😉

It's not possible to get an Amazon Echo to play in sync with Sonos, and we'll not see Google Home and Sonos interacting synchronously as well.

jgatie wrote:

Has Apple even gotten Airplay 2 grouping working yet? ;)

Yes, a very good point jgatie. I perhaps should set my sights a little lower.

Personally, I'm not even counting on my Playbase getting it till it's finally available. Having said that, I got my brother a One instead of a 1 because he would make use of it more than I would.

jgatie wrote:

Has Apple even gotten Airplay 2 grouping working yet? ;)

Looks like it:

Ears-on review: Stereo HomePods will blow you away
https://youtu.be/Uftil4Dywpw

In my living room I have an Apple TV and a stereo pair of gen2 Play 5s. All I really want out of Airplay 2 is to be able to stream the Apple TV audio to the Play 5s without the need for using an aux. cable.

Play 5 can become the crown jewel through Apple TV 4k and Airplay 2. They just announced the Dolby Atmos for Apple TV 4k.

Moosi wrote:

Play 5 can become the crown jewel through Apple TV 4k and Airplay 2. They just announced the Dolby Atmos for Apple TV 4k.

But what makes you think the Play:5 is going to be capable of outputting Dolby Atmos?

That's a fair question

I may have this wrong so please correct me if I do.

My understanding of Airplay 2 is that you will not need the Sonos App to stream the music/content. You will only need it to group none Airplay 2 compatible speakers together.

Once the update is released then you should see and be able to group all compatible speakers together from the control centre on an iPhone for example.

So when I'm watching a film on my ATV 4K my stereo paired Play:5's (Gen 2) should show up as a source to output to. But if I then wanted the sound to also output to the stereo paired Play:1's in the kitchen and bedroom I would have to group the speakers in the Sonos App.

If you had to go through the Sonos app you wouldn't be able to use ATV, YouTube etc as they aren't supported in the Sonos App.

FredBloggs wrote:

Thanks for the thoughts. I have had a brief look around and I would point you to the Quad website for quality gear with the latest Bluetooth technology built in. Yes, I never intended multi-room and I never bought Sonos with that in mind. Big advantage of the Bluetooth solution is that all the family, Android and Apple users alike can have all the integrations they need and stream the resulting output to the sound system. Yes, the Quad solution is quite expensive, there will be others not so expensive, I'm sure. I'll look around. But I am putting no more money into the Sonos kit. Disappointed, but life moves on. Thanks.

But...but...you have a pair of play 1's and you have a subscription to Apple Music ? You've reached the summit there I think. What else would you still want then ? I also have a pair of play 1's and a pair of play 5's and Apple Music. I control them with my Ipad or my smartphone. The music quality is outstanding on the play 5's but also on the play 1's and that should be enough to be loyal to the Sonos brand. I read all the topics here about Airplay, Alexa and yes, that's nice technology, but not that important I think. After all, Sonos is a company that makes quality speakers. They have a few priorities :

- high quality sound
- support streaming services like Apple Music
- easy multi room music support
- reliability
- easy of use

They excel in all of those categories. It's that combination that makes them somewhat unique in the market. Bluetooth technology is nice but it doesn't fit into those priorities.

I mean, it's all about filling your house with music and quality sound. I don't see why everybody is making such a big deal of those nice to haves.

Well they just released the update for Sonos App and speakers (V9.0).

So will soon see how it all works when I get home later.

It works very well for me!