When you’re upgrading your wireless speaker, it can be tempting to focus on finding the most trailblazing features. Spatial Audio. AI-enriched voice assistants. HDMI input for home cinema sound. But sometimes you’ll find it’s the more prosaic features that you’ll miss most if they’re absent.
I’ve tested a lot of wireless speakers over my career, so I’ve got a lot of experience in both feature-packed superstars and no-frills Wi-Fi workhorses. But I’m also heavily invested in Apple’s ecosystem – I use an iPhone 16 Pro, MacBook Pro, Apple TV and Apple Music. That’s why there’s one feature that’s an absolute deal breaker for me: AirPlay 2.
So if you’re stepping outside of Sonos’s ecosystem for the first time and, like me, Apple gadgets are your go-to, let me explain why this is still a killer feature when picking up one of the best wireless speakers.
The argument for AirPlay
Peruse the specs of some wireless speakers and you’d be forgiven for thinking AirPlay 2 is a ubiquitous feature these days. But that’s not always the case. For example, Amazon’s Echo range doesn’t support the technology, not even in the lossless Echo Studio. And while carrying out the testing for my recent Sonos Era 100 VS WiiM Sound feature, I was surprised to find out that the latter didn’t have AirPlay 2. So it’s definitely not always a given.
But why does it matter? Well, for several reasons.
First of all, while many wireless speakers allow you to stream lossless and even hi-res audio direct from services like Tidal or Deezer, fewer devices can natively stream from Apple Music. So if you’re not using a HomePod or Sonos multi-room system, AirPlay 2 offers the only way to wireless enjoy lossless quality music from Apple Music.
It’s not just about streaming services though. A far bigger benefit of AirPlay 2 is the fact it allows you to wirelessly stream all kinds of audio from your Apple devices. Tired of your TV outputting insipid audio? With the Apple TV 4K, you can stream sound wirelessly to your multi-room speaker system. Playing Alien: Isolation on your iPad 11-inch (2025)? Then you can enjoy its creepy soundtrack with real depth by connecting to an AirPlay-enabled speaker.
I know first-hand just how flexible AirPlay 2 can be. Not only do I stream music and TV shows on my Apple devices but I often use them to create content too. When I’m producing music on my MacBook Pro 2017, being able to ping my sound to a high-res speaker like my Cambridge Audio Evo One allows me to hear what it sounds like on a different setup without having to faff around with wired connections. That kind of versatility really cannot be beat and the fact I can do this with any audio from my Apple devices really is invaluable to me.
So when you’re shopping for a new wireless speaker, yes, it’s worth looking out for fancy features like Dolby Atmos or automatic room compensation. But if you’re an Apple user, don’t sleep on AirPlay as it’ll add value in all kinds of subtle ways you might not even be able to predict yet.
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josh.russell@futurenet.com (Josh Russell)
