Sonos today announced that the company’s speakers will now support AirPlay 2. That is Apple’s multiroom audio system that other manufacturers can use to make speakers. You must have iOS 11.4 installed on your iPhone or iPad for AirPlay 2 on Sonos speakers
With AirPlay 2, users can play music and podcasts from their iOS devices directly on their Sonos speakers, including movies from Netflix , YouTube videos and more. Speakers supporting the latest version of the stand include the new Sonos Beam the Sonos One Playbase and the second generation Play: 5.
Moreover, with only one supported speaker, it is possible to stream AirPlay content to other Sonos speakers in the system. Customers using Apple AirPlay 2 will also have access to a new voice experience with the addition of Siri. Ask Siri to play tracks, albums, or playlists from Apple Music on Sonos.
Multiroom and Apple Music
The big advantage of AirPlay 2 is that you can make any speaker with support part of a multiroom network, regardless of the brand. A disadvantage is that Apple currently only lets Apple Music stream through the new AirPlay standard. You can of course use other streaming services via the Sonos app itself (and the app of other services).
