Sonos One, Playbase, and Play:5 Will Support AirPlay 2 Functionality

When Sonos introduced the new Sonos One back in October, the company confirmed it would add AirPlay 2 support to Sonos speakers later in 2018.

At the time, Sonos did not specify which of its devices would support the new protocol, but Sonos has offered some clarification in the form of a new blog post that includes AirPlay 2 details.

According to Sonos, native AirPlay 2 support will be available on the Playbase, the newest version of the Play:5, and the Sonos One.

Older Sonos speakers will not support AirPlay 2 on their own due to processor limitations, but they can be paired with the Playbase, the Play:5, or the Sonos One to enable AirPlay 2 functionality. A Sonos Play:1 grouped with a Sonos One, for example, will support AirPlay 2.

The computing platforms and software architecture in some of the older Sonos players like Play:3 and Play:1 simply don’t have the horsepower to support AirPlay 2. The original Play:1, for example, has about 1/16th the processing power of its modern equivalent, the Sonos One. But by taking advantage of newer Sonos hardware, we’re able to make AirPlay 2 funtionality available throughout the house on speakers old and new.

Apple thus far has not released AirPlay 2, despite the fact that it was first introduced as a feature of iOS 11 back in June of 2017. AirPlay 2 functionality was initially included in iOS 11.3 and tvOS 11.3 betas, but it was pulled ahead of the release of those updates.

AirPlay 2 functionality is now included in iOS 11.4 and tvOS 11.4, but it is not yet clear if the features will be included in the final version of the software.

Tags: AirPlay, Sonos

Related Forum: iOS 11

Top Rated Comments

FX120

111 months ago

Not entirely not for those of us that wish to keep their existing Play:1's and NOT have to spend more for a 'AI connected' device just to get AirPlay 2 support. Ive already paid $400CAN for a limited edition super all black Play:1 (gril and everything, not the silver+black).

I'll be selling mine next week and will use headphones until something better comes along.

HomePod - lowered prices?
B&O M5 - support AirPlay 2?

EDIT: B&O Beoplay M5 will support AirPlay 2 ... proper communication from the get go unlike Sonos. Plus better sound quality, no snooping! Just the way I like it!
Official: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjhh8WszdbaAhUGEawKHcdsB3QQFggnMAA&url=https://www.bang-olufsen.com/~/mediaV3/Files/press-releases/bang-olufsen/airplay-2/bang-olufsen-airplay-2.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0WLSv1sp1LQ_ODpaf-TQTC ('https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjhh8WszdbaAhUGEawKHcdsB3QQFggnMAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bang-olufsen.com%2F~%2FmediaV3%2FFiles%2Fpress-releases%2Fbang-olufsen%2Fairplay-2%2Fbang-olufsen-airplay-2.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0WLSv1sp1LQ_ODpaf-TQTC')

Why would you expect a 5 year old device to get Airplay 2 support in the first place?

Sell it and just get a One, it will look and sound the same and if you don't want to use the voice assistant stuff just turn off the mic. If you have a limited edition Play:1 I'm sure you can sell it for more than what a new One will cost.

Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Mangos86

111 months ago

What????? That's the final straw. I'm moving to Bluesound.

Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)

csurfr

111 months ago

Why would you expect a 5 year old device to get Airplay 2 support in the first place?

Because AirPlay 2 is software based, not hardware. The only reason Sonos is going this route is to attempt to sell new devices. Unfortunately they are taking a chance of alienating all of their existing customers.

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

vipergts2207

111 months ago

Why would you expect a 5 year old device to get Airplay 2 support in the first place?

Sell it and just get a One, it will look and sound the same and if you don't want to use the voice assistant stuff just turn off the mic. If you have a limited edition Play:1 I'm sure you can sell it for more than what a new One will cost.

To be fair, it's looking like the AirPort Express, a 6-year-old device may get AP2 support. Though, @hank moody did bring up a good point. Why the need for AP2 if you only have one speaker?

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

FX120

111 months ago

Why would I not? It’s 3yrs old when Sonos started selling the special editions with the colours, 2018-mid makes 4yrs. Also there is no hardware difference except the AI chip and RAM to run it. The boot in Wi-Fi chip is upgradeable via firmware; think about the press release. How is the One able to broadcast and pair with the Play:1 to make both AirPlay2 compatible?

There is a pretty big difference in hardware required to support the buffer Airplay 2 specifies. Some of the oldest Sonos players only have 32MB of RAM and the Play:1 only has 64MB which is plenty to for what it was designed to do. Sonosnet is a mesh network and only needs stores a few seconds of buffered uncompressed audio in the player. Airplay 2 requires a buffer of several minutes of uncompressed audio, which probably wouldn't be possible to make room for on the older devices.

I just dislike the shady non distinct clarification, then the major sale push and limited 2:1 discount of the One to entice that models sales when the Play:1 was still and still is sold directly from Sonos and their entire Sales channel.

I didn't see anything from Sonos advertising that Airplay 2 support was coming to all devices natively, just that it would be supported on the One. I think the confusion comes around due to question of whether or not Airplay 2 audio sent to a One would be able to be distributed out to the rest of the network which is compatible with all older devices.

I've bought several Ones and Play:1s in the last year, and am glad that Sonos kept the Play:1 around as it's still a great device for places I don't need or want voice support and is $50 cheaper.
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Because AirPlay 2 is software based, not hardware. The only reason Sonos is going this route is to attempt to sell new devices. Unfortunately they are taking a chance of alienating all of their existing customers.

Software still runs on hardware. The hardware that runs the embedded Linux OS that Sonos uses wasn't designed to support the buffer that Airplay 2 requires. The resources just aren't there on the older devices.

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

JamesLeSmash

111 months ago

What????? That's the final straw. I'm moving to Bluesound.

This is a real stab-in-the-back for customers that have been with Sonos for a while. Here’s why...with the below configuration:
Room 1: 2x Play:1’s & HomePod
Room 2: 1x Play:1
Room3: 1x Play:1

If want to integrate AP2 in Room 1 then I need to buy a One (or better) which would result in two smart speakers in one room...pointless. Then for every additional room I need to buy a One to bring it onto AP2.

Given that I don’t want Alexa in my house, I feel like my only Sonos option really is to get a Play:5 & put that in Room 1 (moving one of the 1’s elsewhere) & accepting that only one room will have AP2 (because of the 5 price point).

I’m also assuming that I’ll be able to say “Hey siri, play Britney Spears in Room 1”...if I can’t do this then for me personally there is almost no point...I don’t hate the Sonos app THAT much...

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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