Sonos Adds AirPlay 2 Support to Latest Speakers, Enabling Siri Control and Multi-Room Audio

Sonos today announced that its One, Beam, Playbase, and second-generation Play:5 speakers now support AirPlay 2, as promised.

sonos airplay 2
This marks the first time Sonos speakers have supported AirPlay in general, enabling users to easily stream audio from iTunes on Mac, and virtually any app for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, including Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, Hulu, Pandora, and Netflix, to compatible Sonos speakers over Wi-Fi.

AirPlay allows for Siri control of Apple Music or Podcasts playback on compatible Sonos speakers via iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, HomePod, and Apple TV. For example, one could say "Hey Siri, play Beats 1 Radio in the bedroom," after the speaker is named and assigned to a room in Apple's Home app on iOS.

AirPlay 2 in particular enables multi-room audio playback for Sonos speakers paired with other Sonos speakers, HomePod, or Apple TVs. Sonos speakers appear in the AirPlay Picker within apps and Control Center on iOS devices.

Sonos said its older speakers do not support AirPlay 2 on their own due to processor limitations, but in the Sonos app, they can be paired with any of the aforementioned speakers to enable support for Apple's new protocol. An older Playbar paired with a Playbase, for example, works with AirPlay 2.

Sonos initially held out on adding AirPlay compatibility to its speakers in part due to minor latency issues addressed by AirPlay 2.

Apple first enabled AirPlay 2 in iOS 11.4, released in late May. Sonos is the first third-party speaker maker to support the protocol, to be followed by Beoplay, Bang & Olufsen, Denon, Libratone, Marantz, Naim, and others.

AirPlay 2 support is available through a free software update via the Sonos Controller companion app on the App Store.

Top Rated Comments

oskarbar Avatar
68 months ago
How can a HomePod compete (only Airplay and closed to Apple Music), with this Sonos thas has compatibility for everything?

With this Sonos option in the market, makes no sense to buy the Apple...
Score: 25 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OldSchoolMacGuy Avatar
68 months ago
How can a HomePod compete (only Airplay and closed to Apple Music), with this Sonos thas has compatibility for everything?

With this Sonos option in the market, makes no sense to buy the Apple...
Many want Siri rather than Alexa.

Many want better sound quality, which the HomePod offers.

Many will like the looks of the HomePod over Sonos.

Many will want the improved integration that the HomePod offers over Sonos.

There are many other reasons some may choose one over the other. Just because you prefer Sonos doesn't mean the same will be true for everyone else.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DaveOP Avatar
68 months ago
How can a HomePod compete (only Airplay and closed to Apple Music), with this Sonos thas has compatibility for everything?

With this Sonos option in the market, makes no sense to buy the Apple...
I have no interest in Alexa in my house, anywhere. I do have a Sonos system with a PlayBar and 2xPlay:1, but they won't support Airplay 2. I do think my Homepod sounds much better than my Play:1, and I use the Siri integration all the time. Having both, I don't have any plans to purchase newer Sonos speakers just to support Airplay2, would rather spend the money on another Homepod for stereo. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
obiwan Avatar
68 months ago
Good move by Sonos. Hopefully these will outsell HomePod by a large margin, so Apple's increasingly closed ecosystem will come back to bite them in the bum.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Santabean2000 Avatar
68 months ago
Love my Sonos.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TimmeyCook Avatar
68 months ago
Sonos is an excellent company.

Instead of b***** that Apple is bad, they just adopt their technologies, and go on with their lives.

They support both Apple, as well as others, like Spotify and Google.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Mock Header With Dynamic Island

Skipping the iPhone 15 Pro? Here's What's Rumored for iPhone 16 Pro

Friday September 22, 2023 9:29 am PDT by
Are you skipping the iPhone 15 Pro and waiting another year to upgrade? If so, we already have some iPhone 16 Pro rumors for you. Below, we recap new features rumored for the iPhone 16 Pro models so far:Larger displays: The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped with larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, respectively, according to Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain...
Apple WWDC23 macOS Sonoma hero

macOS Sonoma Launching This Week With These New Features

Sunday September 24, 2023 12:45 pm PDT by
Apple previously announced that macOS Sonoma will be released this Tuesday, September 26. The free software update includes many new features and changes for the Mac, including the five that we have highlighted below. In addition to these five features, we have shared the full release notes for macOS Sonoma below for a complete overview of everything new. Desktop Widgets macOS Sonoma...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 double tap gesture 230912

watchOS 10.1 to Enable Apple Watch's New 'Double Tap' Gesture

Thursday September 21, 2023 12:52 pm PDT by
The new Double Tap gesture for the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 will be enabled starting with watchOS 10.1, according to Marques Brownlee, host of the popular tech-focused YouTube channel MKBHD. The first beta of watchOS 10.1 will likely be available by next week, and Apple announced that the software update will be released next month. Brownlee shared his impressions...