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.
Top Rated Comments
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.
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.
[doublepost=1524727635][/doublepost]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.
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...