Spotify Pauses Plans to Add AirPlay 2 Support to iOS App [Update: Spotify Clarifies]
See update at bottom of article
Spotify this week confirmed that its plans to add AirPlay 2 support to its iOS app have been placed on indefinite hiatus.
In an online discussion forum post, a Spotify representative said the streaming music service had been working on supporting AirPlay 2, but the company has paused the efforts "for now" due to "audio driver compatibility issues." The representative described AirPlay 2 support as a "bigger project that we won't be able to complete in the foreseeable future."
AirPlay 2 launched as part of iOS 11.4 in May 2018 with several enhancements to the original AirPlay wireless audio protocol, including multi-room audio, Siri voice control, and improved buffering. An app can support AirPlay 2 by implementing AVFoundation framework APIs, with a four-step process outlined on Apple's developer website.
Spotify has also yet to add native support for the HomePod (or its HomePod mini successor), despite Apple opening up the speaker to third-party music services last year. This is despite Spotify filing a complaint against Apple with the European Commission in March 2019 that accused the iPhone maker of "locking Spotify and other competitors out of Apple services such as Siri, HomePod, and Apple Watch."
We've reached out to Spotify for comment and we'll provide an update if we hear back.
Update (Aug 7, 2021): Spotify has reached out and indicates that the original post was not accurate and AirPlay 2 support is still in the works:
A post on one of Spotify’s Community pages contained incomplete information regarding our plans for AirPlay2. Spotify will support AirPlay2 and we’re working to make that a reality.
Spotify has updated the original post with the revised information.
Related Stories
Monday September 27, 2021 5:35 am PDT by
Sami FathiFollowing a flood of reports and complaints, Spotify has acknowledged that its app may be causing excessive battery drain and overheating issues on iOS 14.8 and the latest iOS 15 update, promising a fix in the not-so-distant future.
In a long and ongoing support thread on its website, which started weeks ago, Spotify says it is aware of battery drain reports and that it has passed those...
Spotify today announced the launch of new beta version of its desktop app that's optimized for M1 Macs with native Apple silicon support.
According to Spotify, the beta software features compatibility improvements and optimizations for the Arm-based M1 systems from Apple.
The beta software can be downloaded from Spotify's community site, and Spotify is seeking feedback on how the software ...
Amid the ongoing legal battle between Epic Games and Apple, Spotify's chief legal officer and head of global affairs Horacio Gutierrez penned an anti-App Store op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, where he summarizes Spotify's issues with Apple.
Gutierrez says that Spotify is one of the few companies that insists Apple is a "ruthless bully that uses its dominance to hobble competitors."...
Spotify has announced a new partnership with Delta that will see the streaming service take over the "audio" section of Delta's in-flight seatback entertainment, making select playlists and podcasts freely available to all passengers.
You are now free to roam about the cabin—and get the music and podcasts you love at 30,000 feet. Beginning today, we're taking off in a new partnership with...
Spotify in February announced plans to introduce a new "HiFi" premium tier sometime in 2021, and while the company declined to offer a date, there's reason to believe a launch could be imminent, especially in the wake of Apple Music's lossless tier announcement on Monday.
In a timely discovery, hints of Spotify's lossless HiFi audio streaming service have again been spotted this week by...
Spotify is experimenting with a new ad-supported subscription tier that gives listeners more freedom over what they listen to compared to the existing free ad-based plan.
Called Spotify Plus, the tier costs $0.99 per month and lets users pick which songs they want to stream between ads, with unlimited skips and on-demand listening. That's in contrast to Spotify's free ad-based tier,...
In the coming weeks on iOS and Android, Spotify will be rolling out a new tab in its mobile app that will provide users with notifications about new songs and album releases from their favorite artists, podcasts shows, and more.
The new page will be accessible with a tap of a new bell icon placed on the top-right hand corner on the Spotify home page. Tapping provides users a "real-time" view ...
Last month, Belkin introduced the Soundform Connect Audio Adapter with AirPlay 2, letting users turn their traditional speakers into AirPlay 2-enabled devices.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. MacRumors videographer Dan has now had a chance to spend some time with the accessory, so check out our latest video for a look at the setup process, using standalone speakers ...
Spotify today announced plans to introduce a new "HiFi" premium tier later this year, which will provide higher-quality lossless audio. According to Spotify, the feature will offer CD-quality music that will let fans experience more depth and clarity in their favorite tracks.
Streaming music services like Tidal, Deezer, and Amazon Music have offered lossless audio options but to date,...
Monday October 18, 2021 12:07 pm PDT by
Sami FathiApple has removed all references to the original, full-sized HomePod from its website, months after officially discontinuing the smart speaker that struggled to reach mainstream adoption.
The removal of references to the original HomePod came as a result of brand new changes to Apple's website. With the new changes, Apple now only highlights the HomePod mini, which now comes in brand new...
Top Rated Comments
2. It has more songs
3. It has much better recommendations and radios
4. Apple, being Apple, provides mediocre services and support outside the US and some countries in Europe ( mediocre localization, no localize customer service - English only, much smaller library in Apple Music due to incomplete international licenses, etc…)
In my country, Spotify heavily invested in localization, publicly modifying their recommendation algorithm to to adjust local opinion and preferences.