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.

Mac airplay receiver