Sonos speakers now support AirPlay 2

Alex Choros - Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor

Last updated 12 July 2018

A new software update for Sonos speakers has at last enabled support for Apple's AirPlay 2 music protocol. AirPlay 2 allows you to control Sonos speakers directly from an iOS device without the need to open the controller app, and in turn, ask Siri to play tunes.

More interestingly, AirPlay 2 is also available on Alexa-enabled Sonos speakers and there's some interoperability between the two. You can ask Siri on your iPhone to play something on a Sonos Beam or Sonos One, and then ask Alexa to tell you what's playing on the speaker. It feels like forbidden magic.

AirPlay 2 is compatible with the Sonos Beam, One, second generation Play:5, and Playbase. If you have a mix of old and new Sonos speakers, owning any of the newer ones will make them all AirPlay 2 compatible, provided you have them grouped together in your Sonos app.

Interestingly, AirPlay 2 speakers from different manufacturers can be grouped together using your iPhone or iPad, which, for example, lets you use a HomePod and a Sonos One in some sort of unholy multiroom setup.

We've been testing out Sonos' AirPlay 2 compatibilities in beta for a couple of weeks now and it's been smooth sailing so far. We'll have more on this in our upcoming Sonos Beam review.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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