When it comes to listening to music wirelessly, most people think of Bluetooth. It’s built into almost every smartphone on the planet, and a host of tablets, desktops, and laptops have it, too. But if you own Apple hardware, you should be aware of a Bluetooth alternative that works over Wi-Fi called Apple AirPlay 2.
AirPlay 2 is much more than just a pairing option: it allows you to send both audio and video to a growing number of devices, including TVs, speakers, Apple TV set-top boxes, Mac computers, and home theater receivers—all sans wires If you have more than one AirPlay 2-compatible audio device, you can stream your music to just one of them, some of them, or all of them without losing sync. If that sounds great, stay tuned. We’ll highlight all the cool features of AirPlay 2 and show you how to use it.
What is AirPlay anyway?
Originally introduced in 2004 as AirTunes, AirPlay is Apple’s proprietary suite of wireless protocols designed to allow users to “stream” audio and video signals from a single “sending” device to a single “receiving” device. Streaming content includes music, video, photos, and screen sharing, all of which retain their metadata when sent via AirPlay.
Back then, shipping devices included Windows computers with Apple Music, iOS devices including iPhone, iPod, and iPad, and Mac computers with macOS X Mountain Lion or later (depending on processor).
Receiving devices included long-discontinued Apple AirPort Express routers, but now include Apple TV, Apple’s HomePod, HomePod Gen 2, HomePod Mini, Mac computers running Monterey macOS or later, and a wide variety of wireless speakers from compatible third parties. as a series of smart TV platforms.
AirPlay also allows you to “mirror” the screen of your iOS/iPadOS/MacOS device on Apple TV so you don’t end up with a bunch of people crowding around a small screen just to see a map, photo, video, etc. .
What does AirPlay 2 do?
Apple
Announced in 2017, AirPlay 2 builds on the original AirPlay feature set, giving you greater control over AirPlay devices through Apple’s HomeKit platform. With it you can:
- Stream music to multiple AirPlay 2-compatible speakers simultaneously, creating a true multi-room streaming system. Under the original AirPlay, only one could be used at a time.
- Apple home support. With the Home app, you can tag these AirPlay 2 devices and add them to rooms and scenes, which can then be automated. For fans of Apple’s Siri voice assistant, this is a big deal because Siri can control every device that HomeKit recognizes. Initially, this only worked with an Apple Music subscription, but Apple added support, including Deezer, Spotify, Pandora, and more.
- If you own two Apple HomePods or HomePod Minis, you can use AirPlay 2 to set them up as a stereo pair.
- As with AirPlay, AirPlay 2 supports 16-bit/44.1kHz lossless CD-quality audio streams, one of several lossless audio levels Apple Music now offers. No Apple’s wireless headphones support these formats, but wireless headphones from other manufacturers are beginning to appear that support lossless audio over Bluetooth.
- AirPlay 2 can also be used to control streaming video and many more devices besides Apple TV. Smart TV models from Samsung, LG, Vizio, Toshiba, and Sony now support AirPlay 2, as do all 4K-capable Roku TVs and select Roku players. For some people, this will mean they won’t need an Apple TV device anymore, especially since many of those same TVs will also get the Apple TV app.
Other AirPlay 2-compatible devices include multiple sound bars, smart thermostats like Ecobees, and other smart speakers.
AirPlay 2 is built into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, so whether you’re using an iPhone, iPad, or computer, you’ll have full control over playback.
Does AirPlay work on all my Apple devices?
AirPlay 2 is built into iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, so whether you’re using an Apple mobile device or a computer, you’ll have full control over audio playback. The same goes for streaming devices Apple TV and Apple TV 4K. Apple tvOS turns your Apple TV into an audio “sending” device, so if you’re playing a movie on Apple TV, you can turn every AirPlay 2 speaker in your home into an extended home theater sound system, a Useful feature for those who don’t have a dedicated sound bar or 5.1 home theater system.
With the macOS Monterey update, Apple also added the ability to AirPlay directly from another Apple device, like an iPhone or iPad, directly to your Mac. This can be used to display media on a larger screen if you want to share it with an audience, among others. This macOS support is only available on Mac models sold in recent years, but it works on MacBooks, iMacs, Mac Minis, and more.
How is AirPlay 2 different from Bluetooth?
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Although AirPlay and Bluetooth allow for wireless audio streaming, there are some important differences:
- Despite the name, AirPlay and AirPlay 2 will work over any IP network connection, whether wired or wireless (Wi-Fi). The only rule is that all AirPlay devices must be on the same network. Unfortunately, this also means that AirPlay won’t work when you’re away from your home or office unless you have a portable travel router that you can use to create a temporary Wi-Fi network.
- Bluetooth can directly connect devices wirelessly without the need for a conventional IP-based network.
- AirPlay is owned by Apple. Currently, the company only allows Apple devices to use AirPlay to stream media. Bluetooth is an open standard. Any company can decide to incorporate Bluetooth streaming into their devices.
- AirPlay can send video and audio, while Bluetooth only works with audio.
- But because AirPlay uses Wi-Fi and Ethernet, it has more bandwidth to work with and can therefore support higher quality audio streaming than Bluetooth.
- Bluetooth’s wireless range is shorter than Wi-Fi and has a harder time going through walls and other obstacles.
- You can use a Bluetooth speaker as a speakerphone if it has a microphone, and some will let you create stereo pairs over Bluetooth. AirPlay doesn’t have the same microphone-centric features.
- Bluetooth is a more universal standard and is used to pair keyboards, mice, and more. AirPlay focuses on streaming media.
What devices work with AirPlay 2?
Simon Cohen / Digital Trends
As mentioned above, the list of AirPlay 2 sending devices is fairly short, consisting mainly of iOS devices (they’ll need iOS 11 or later) and Mac computers (macOS 10.13 or later); it will not work on any device made before. 2011 ..
The list of receivers, on the other hand, is growing rapidly and by our count includes many brands of wireless speakers and AV receivers, plus a growing selection of TV brands (if you don’t count Roku TVs, which are offered by various manufacturers). AirPlay 2 also expands your reach into the world of streaming, thanks to compatibility with Roku devices.
Here are just a few companies that already support AirPlay 2 on some of their products:
- Amazon Omni and Fire TV
- Bang & Olufsen
- blue sound
- bose
- Bowers and Wilkins
- The latest technology
- Denon
- devialet
- ecobee
- Ikea
- LG
- Libraton
- Marshall
- marantz
- McIntosh
- Namely
- Pioneer
- Polk Audio
- Roku
- samsung
- sonos
- sony
- vision
Unsurprisingly, this is probably only a small fraction of companies planning to add Airplay 2 support to their products. Additionally, some existing applications and products can be updated to support AirPlay 2, along with newly developed applications and products. A recent example comes from Bose, which added AirPlay 2 to its SoundTouch wireless speakers, some of which were years old.
So if you’ve got some fancy black and white Wi-Fi enabled speakers, don’t sell them just yet!
How to start using AirPlay 2
If you have compatible devices, using AirPlay 2 is very easy, but there are a few different ways to do it.
Using AirPlay to mirror
On an iOS/iPad OS device, go to Control Center and select the icon of two interlocking rectangles. This will bring up a list of available screen mirroring devices on your network, such as an Apple TV or a compatible Mac. Choose the one you want.
Using AirPlay to stream video
Within an AirPlay-enabled app on your iOS/iPad OS device, start playing the video. A tap on the screen should reveal a set of icons in the top right corner. Find the rectangle with the triangle facing down and select it. It should display a list of available AirPlay video devices on your network, such as a compatible Apple TV or Mac. Choose the one you want.
Using AirPlay to stream audio
There are two ways to AirPlay Audio on an iOS/iPad OS device. If your app supports AirPlay, you can see a triangle with a series of radiating concentric rings on the Now Playing screen. Selecting that icon will bring up a list of available AirPlay audio devices on your network, such as an AirPlay-compatible wireless speaker or AV receiver. Choose the one you want.
If your app doesn’t support direct AirPlay streaming, you can create an AirPlay connection to a compatible speaker using Control Center. Look for the media control panel that has the icon of the same triangle with concentric radiating rings, and select it. This will display a list of available AirPlay audio devices on your network, such as an AirPlay-compatible wireless speaker or AV receiver. Choose the one you want.
On a Mac, AirPlay audio options are in the Sound menu. This is often available from the top menu bar on your Mac, but if the icon isn’t there, you can access it from the System Preferences app. Select the desired AirPlay device from the list.
AirPlay 2 compatibility issues
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
AirPlay 2 support may vary and some devices may become obsolete for AirPlay support, especially when it comes to new features. This is at least probably with Apple’s own devices, but problems can still occur. For example, when iOS 16 was released, updated iPhones lost AirPlay 2 support with some of the older Apple TVs from 2010 and 2012. Still not sure if this is intentional or not, but if you’re working with devices that have a decade old or more, know that you may encounter some operational problems.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn