Apple's upgraded AirPlay 2 with multiroom audio streaming and stereo HomePod pairing is here

AirPlay 2 is rolling out now for iOS and the HomePod(Credit: Apple)
iOS 11.4 is available today, and it comes with two notable new features: Messages in the Cloud and AirPlay 2. We’ll dive into the messaging update in another post, but AirPlay 2 is a big deal: it adds multiroom support so multiple AirPlay 2 devices from a wide variety of manufacturers can all play the same music around your house. Separately, iOS 11.4 allows two HomePods to play as a stereo pair. Altogether, AirPlay 2 and stereo HomePod pairing bring Apple’s wireless audio system to parity with competitors like Google Cast and Amazon Alexa after years of stasis. Seriously, this is the biggest update to the audio side of AirPlay since it was first announced as “AirTunes” in 2004.

We first heard about AirPlay 2, Apple's upgraded wireless audio protocol, at the WWDC developer conference last year. With today's roll out of iOS 11.4 it's finally here, bringing with it multi-room audio and more advanced pairing capabilities to iPhones, iPads, and the HomePod speaker.

Multi-room is the big difference between AirPlay 1 and AirPlay 2, letting iOS users beam music and other audio to several compatible devices (such as the Apple TV) simultaneously. It's a major upgrade and puts Apple's system more on a par with rivals like Google Cast and the Sonos platform.

The multi-cast capability has been available on the Mac for some time, but with AirPlay 2 it's now on Apple's portable devices and smart speaker. The update also allows owners of two HomePods to pair them together and use them as a stereo system.

"Each HomePod is able to play its own audio channel – left or right – while separating out both the ambient and direct energy," Apple says in a blog post. "This innovative stereo sound provides a wide, almost three-dimensional soundstage for an incredible listening experience anywhere in the room."

The HomePod is also getting calendar support for Siri, so you can ask when and where your meetings are and add events to your calendar. It’ll work with any calendar you add to your iOS calendar app as part of the HomePod’s personal request feature; like other personal information, it’s not available if your phone isn’t on the same network. It would be better if the HomePod could recognize individual voices and only allow your voice to access that sort of information, but honestly, we’re still waiting on multiple timer support here, so don’t hold your breath.

Lastly, I asked if there were any updates that might make the HomePod work better as an Apple TV speaker, and the answer was nothing right now.

AirPlay 2 requires iOS 11.4 on all your devices to work. iPhone owners can update now, while HomePod owners can start the update from the Home app or just wait for it to automatically roll out over the next few days.

source: Mobile Technology.