Eve Systems today announced the upcoming launch of the Eve Play, an audio streaming interface created for AirPlay 2. Eve Play adds AirPlay streaming capabilities to existing amplifiers, active speakers, and sound bars, allowing them to be synchronized with other AirPlay speakers for whole-house audio.
The Eve Play includes RCA connectors, optical digital outputs, and coaxial digital outputs, along with an Ethernet port and the option to connect to either 2.4 or 5GHz WiFi. According to Eve, the digital-to-analog converter has a signal-to-noise ratio of 112 dB for an "audiophile sound experience."
When used with the Apple Home app and Apple Music, the Eve Play can be integrated into automations similar to other AirPlay-equipped devices.
Alongside the Eve Play, Eve today introduced the Eve Thermo Control, a wireless temperature sensor and controller for rooms that are equipped with the Eve Thermo smart radiator valve. The Eve Thermo radiator valve is sold in Europe, so the new temperature sensor is also designed for the European market.
The Eve Thermo Control senses the ambient temperature and relays it to the smart radiator valve for more accurate climate control.
In November, Eve plans to release a Matter update for Eve MotionBlinds roller blind motors and the Eve MotionBlinds Upgrade Kit, adding Adaptive Shading as a free upgrade feature. Adaptive Shading allows the blinds to open and close automatically based on location, date, and time.
Eve Play is priced at $150 and it will be available starting on November 14. The Eve Thermo Control is priced at €79.95 and will also be available on the same day. More information is available on the Eve website.
Thursday February 12, 2026 11:17 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to release an iPhone 17e and an iPad Air with an M4 chip "in the coming weeks," according to the latest word from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
"Apple retail employees say that inventory of the iPhone 16e has basically dried out and the iPad Air is seeing shortages as well," said Gurman. "I've been expecting new versions of both (iPhone 17e and M4 iPad Air) in the coming weeks."...
Friday February 13, 2026 2:01 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to launch a rebranded "Sales Coach" app on the iPhone and iPad later this month, according to a source familiar with the matter.
"Sales Coach" will arrive as an update to Apple's existing "SEED" app, and it will continue to provide sales tips and training resources to Apple Store and Apple Authorized Reseller employees around the world. For example, there are articles and videos...
Friday February 13, 2026 8:43 am PST by Joe Rossignol
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still seven months away, an analyst has revealed five new features the devices will allegedly have.
Rumored color options for the iPhone 18 Pro models
In a research note with investment firm GF Securities on Thursday, analyst Jeff Pu outlined the following upgrades for the iPhone 18 Pro models:
Smaller Dynamic Island: It has been rumored...
Friday February 13, 2026 4:18 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple has a long list of new products rumored for 2026, including a series of home products that will see the company establishing more of a presence in the smart home space. Robots are on the horizon for 2027, but the 2026 releases will be a little tamer.
HomePod mini
We're expecting a new HomePod mini 2 to launch at any time. Apple isn't going to update the device's design, but we could...
Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works.
We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...
At first the $150 price for the Eve play sounded really high, but I'm actually having difficulty finding an existing comparable product for less, does anyone know of any?
Gen 2 AirPort Express ('https://www.ebay.com/itm/166285807970?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=sHsuIsY6Rwm&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=VekiTxI-SfC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY')
At first the $150 price for the Eve play sounded really high, but I'm actually having difficulty finding an existing comparable product for less, does anyone know of any?
The Belkin Soundform Connect. An AirPlay 2 adaptor that's been out for a few years. RRP is about £90, easily found for about £60 (on Amazon, eBay etc). Only has optical (SPDIF) and 3.5mm audio outputs, and WiFi not Ethernet, but a couple of them have worked reliably for me.
At first the $150 price for the Eve play sounded really high, but I'm actually having difficulty finding an existing comparable product for less, does anyone know of any?
This device seems to have the advantage of wired ethernet and maybe 5GHz Wifi over the WiiM and Belkin. I think the RCA connectors are also a differentiator, not that 3.5mm is terrible or RCA is the pinnacle of interconnects, but some people have their preferences.
AirPlay 2 actually supports lossless audio encoded as either PCM or ALAC. Apple Music will send ALAC to AirPlay 2 receivers when playing back an ALAC rip from a CD, but only sends 256kbps AAC when playing from the Apple Music streaming service.
The lack of HiRes audio with Apple Music is fairly unimportant because the people who are sure they can hear a difference vs CD-quality audio, or even 256kbps AAC, are most likely wrong and would fail to distinguish them in a double-blind test.
At first the $150 price for the Eve play sounded really high, but I'm actually having difficulty finding an existing comparable product for less, does anyone know of any?
