On Wednesday , Sonos released support for Apple ’s AirPlay 2 , giving a dramatic cost increase in functionality to certain Sonos chic speakersvia a software update . If you ’ve perplex a Sonos One , Beam , Playbase , or second - generation Play:5 , you ’ll need to refresh your Sonos iOS app and then practice the new app to deploy the package update .
This is a braggart step forward in flexibleness for Sonos products — keep in mind that Sonos Speaker do n’t do Bluetooth or AirPlay 1 , so they ’ve been reasonably securely lock in their own cosmos unless you added a dongle orran a software system bridge deck . But once a Sonos speaker gets AirPlay 2 , you may do a lot more than just play audio recording directly to that verbaliser from a Mac or iOS machine .
An updated Play:5 , Garage , appears in the iTunes list of audio gadget .
Perhaps most impressively , all AirPlay 2 speakers can play music in utter synchronizing . If you ’ve got a HomePod or two and a compatible Sonos machine , you may now pick out all those devices and play music through them , altogether in sync . Even well , if you ’ve gotincompatibleSonos machine and locate them in the same group as an AirPlay 2 - compatible Sonos twist via the Sonos app , those speakers will also play synchronously . I was capable to get music to play in sync throughout my house this morning time , via a pair set of HomePods , a Play:5 , and the ( inappropriate ) Play:1 in my bathroom .
Sonos AirPlay 2 speakers call for to be added to the Home app , give you access via Siri . To bestow a speaker system , tap the plus button , then Add Accessory , then Do n’t Have a Code or Ca n’t Scan . On the next screen , my loudspeaker system appeared as a big icon , hold back to be added .
With AirPlay 2 , Sonos speaker unit gain Siri support .
Siri control is pretty great . I was able-bodied to order my iPhone to play some music in the garage , and in a duet of seconds , music sprung from the Play:5 . you may ascertain Sonos equipment via the HomePod , too : When listening to music on a couple set of HomePods in my life room , I say , “ Hey Siri , also make for this in the garage , ” and the euphony immediately pick up on the Play:5 in the garage , in sync .
With all this public lecture about AirPlay 2 , it ’s worth noting that AirPlay 2 - compatible loudspeaker system also support the original AirPlay communications protocol . It ’s not as robust — everything ’s nonplus a two - second buffering delay , for instance — but I was able-bodied to play a podcast from my iPhone using Overcast ( which does n’t support AirPlay 2 ) to the Play:5 and my distich of HomePods .
Just because these Sonos equipment support AirPlay 2 does n’t mean that they misplace any of their other , existing feature . Sonos has done some nifty engineering to bridge the gap between AirPlay and any other Sonos speakers in your family . That starts with the power to group non - AirPlay Sonos speaker with an AirPlay - compatible one for create a big playback grouping , but it does n’t stop there . you’re able to control playback from the Sonos app , so you’re able to pause , resume , and even skim to the next track — not just on Sonos speakers , but on all the speaker unit that are connected together . This reach out to the control on the Sonos hardware itself . When my ( non - AirPlay 2 ) Sonos Play:1 was make for along with the Play:5 and the HomePods in my living way , I was able to constrict the caper / pause button in the bathroom and break the medicine everywhere .
This update make the $ 199 Sonos One that much more compelling . It ’s not only a fraction of the monetary value of a HomePod , but it ’s now a full AirPlay 2 - compatible citizen . No , you ca n’t talk to it using Siri ( it ’s have Amazon ’s Alexa assistant onboard ) , but you could control it using Siri on your other Apple devices .
