the appearance of its successor
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on its way to the tech graveyard;
devices which run the original
version continue to work.
When it moves into new sectors,
AirPlay 2 gets a little more tricky.
In the TV market, for example,
compatibility is something which
requires new hardware. While
certain manufacturers have been
able to roll AirPlay 2 into models
released before Apple formalized the
upgrade, if your TV was released
before 2018 you’re likely out of luck.
At least that’s currently the case.
With our prediction hats on, we’d
say that, if not full–on AirPlay 2, at
least some form of more convenient
streaming will soon be coming to
a wider range of smart TVs, games
consoles, cable boxes, etc. Apple’s
subscription–based Apple TV+
service demands a strong platform
— if it’s compatible with only a
limited string of smart TVs, it’ll be at
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Amazon Prime Video et al. Watch
this space.example, and the updated protocol
also brought all its compatible
devices into Apple’s HomeKit
ecosystem. This means they appear
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ehqhĽwv=#|rx#fdq#frqwuro#hyhu|wklqj#
from one place, and you can add that
hardware to your automations –
switching your TV on with the rest of
your media equipment, perhaps, or
incorporating a speaker into your
home-brewed intruder alarm.
HomePod users also get a few
extra niceties through the Home
app, the most prominent of which
is the ability to use two HomePodstogether as a stereo pair. Certainly
an expensive way to listen to
two-channel audio, but if you’re all
in with your Apple hardware it’s a
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All of its little upgrades do cause
the second generation of AirPlay to
demand a little more from its
receiver hardware, particularly in
terms of memory: in order to ensure
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It doesn’t, though, necessarily need
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original. In turn, this makes most
modern devices upgradeable, and a
huge amount of existing hardware
has already been able to make the
jump to AirPlay 2 with a simple
Ľupzduh#xsgdwh1UPGRADE OR NOT
There are no formalities here,
though. Certain hardware either
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upgrade required for full AirPlay 2
compatibility, and this includes
Apple’s now end–of–life AirPort
Express. That’s disappointing, butHOW TO Use AirPlay 2 with macOS
Send it out
Sending your Mac’s sound output
to an AirPlay 2 speaker is simple: click
the volume icon on the menu bar, select
the speaker from the list (macOS is smart
enough to add them automatically) and
then click it to switch the output.Many choices
If you want to go multiroom, you’ll
need to use iTunes — click the AirPlay
icon and you’ll see a list of possible
devices. Check the box next to the ones
you wish to use, and you’re done. You can
tweak individual volume levels here too.But not this
One thing you can’t do is combine
AirPlay 2 devices into an aggregate
Audio MIDI Setup (Applications >
Utilities). This can be a handy tool for
local speakers or Macs with multiple
audio outs.Image rights from top–left: Apple, Bang & Olufsen.Older devices, like Beoplay’s A9 speaker,
sometimes get a rolled–back AirPlay 2 upgrade.
Home Life
70 DEC 2019 maclife.com