These Are the Speakers That Will Be Compatible with AirPlay 2
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Apple’s new AirPlay 2 streaming standard has been a long time coming. But after nearly a year in development, AirPlay 2 is finally live in iOS 11.4.
AirPlay 2 is an update to the standard streaming platform. Notably, it introduces multi-room audio, stereo pairing for HomePod, and the ability to ask Siri to play music in specific rooms or throughout a house. It also adds a number of under-the-hood improvements, like the ability to take phone calls without interrupting currently playing audio.
Currently, only Apple’s own HomePod supports AirPlay 2. But Apple has released a list of devices from several manufacturers that have been officially confirmed to adopt AirPlay 2 in the future. Those manufacturers include Sonos, Bang & Olufsen, Libratone and Naim, among others.
Confirmed devices, as of the writing of this article, are included in the following list.
AirPlay 2 Compatible Speakers
- Beoplay A6
- Beoplay A9 mk2
- Beoplay M3
- BeoSound 1
- ?BeoSound 2
- BeoSound 35
- ?BeoSound Core
- ?BeoSound Essence mk2
- ?BeoVision Eclipse (audio only)
- ?Denon AVR-X3500H
- ?Denon AVR-X4500H
- Denon AVR-X6500H
- ?Libratone Zipp
- ?Libratone Zipp Mini
- ?Marantz AV7705
- ?Marantz NA6006
- ?Marantz NR1509
- ?Marantz NR1609
- Marantz SR5013
- ?Marantz SR6013
- ?Marantz SR7013
- Naim Mu-so
- ?Naim Mu-so QB
- Naim ND 555
- ?Naim ND5 XS 2
- Naim NDX 2
- Naim Uniti Nova
- ?Naim Uniti Atom
- Naim Uniti Star
- Sonos One
- Sonos Play:5
- Sonos Playbase
Of course, this list doesn’t represent every speaker that will be compatible with AirPlay 2 in the future — it’s just the ones that Apple has handpicked to announce thus far. The list will likely be updated as manufacturers confirm and reveal their own AirPlay 2-supported products.
Moving forward, products from Beats, Bose, Devialet, Polk, Bowers & Wilkins, Bluesound and Dynaudio will also support AirPlay 2. But exact models from those OEMs have yet to be confirmed.
AirPlay 2 Software Updates?
It’s also worth noting how users will get AirPlay 2 support. Some manufacturers have said that compatibility will be rolled out in a routine software update. At this point, that list includes Naim, Libratone and Sonos. For other OEMs, however, users will need to buy a whole new speaker to be able to use AirPlay 2.
As far as when the AirPlay 2 compatibility will officially launch, it varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. Bang & Olufsen announced that their set of speakers will be compatible with the updated streaming standard later this year. But other manufacturers, like Sonos, haven’t set any firm launch dates.
