Airplay 2 vs Airplay 1

[flintythunder]

Hi all,

I've rewatched the keynote several times and I still cannot tell if Airplay 2 will be backwards compatible with Airplay 1 receivers?

I recently purchased a yamaha network music receiver to use Apple music over airplay 1 and am still within the return period so would like to know if I should hang on to this or return it as yamaha isn't on the list of manufacturers supporting airplay 2 as of the presentation yesterday.

would be really handy if somebody with the os11 beta build could quickly try beaming music over to an airplay receiver to see if it works? I would do it myself but my older device is an iphone 5c.

any idea on the protocol changelist going to airplay 2? That might reveal if legacy devices may be updated to support airplay 2 in the future (similar to the apple tv)

Thanks!

 

[d5aqoëp]

I hope Airplay 2 has 5 Ghz wireless ac support.

 

[Der Keyser]

I think you can be fairly - if not 100% - sure that no existing airplay systems will (or maybe even can) be upgraded to airplay 2.
First of I assume theres both codec and bandwidth considerations existing hardware was not designed to handle, but also:
Why would any vendor add this feature when it's somehing Apple has introduced and not themselves? It's the perfect alibi to sell you a new piece of hardware with the opportunity to blame it on apple. In the end its all about selling more stuff.

 

[CaTOAGU]

My gut feeling is that existing Airplay 1 devices will continue to function as they do now. Upgraded software/firmware/hardware will be required for new Airplay 2 functionality such as multi-room support.

It should be easy to test for anyone with access to the Beta that has an Airplay 1 device(s). If you have enough time remaining in your return window, I'd hang on to it for a few days until more information is available.

 

[Der Keyser]

I'm sure IOS11, 12 and probably even 13 will support Airplay 1.
Otherwise Apple will have a major - and I DO mean - major ********* coming their way

 

[azing]

Well there is hope of backwards compatibility if the fine-print on the iOS 11 preview page is anything to go by.

"AirPlay 2 may require a software update to existing speakers or new hardware depending on speaker manufacturer."

 

[dantracht]

Well there is hope of backwards compatibility if the fine-print on the iOS 11 preview page is anything to go by.

"AirPlay 2 may require a software update to existing speakers or new hardware depending on speaker manufacturer."

Hopefully that includes an update to the more recent airport expresses, of which I have 3 handling music in my home.

 

[fezzzer]

At 72mins - Federighi mentions 'Many of us already own a great Airplay 2 compatible speaker, and those are the ones connected to our Apple TV'. I wonder if this means that anyone who has an Apple TV essentially gets an upgrade to Airplay 2?

 

[flintythunder]

Well there is hope of backwards compatibility if the fine-print on the iOS 11 preview page is anything to go by.

"AirPlay 2 may require a software update to existing speakers or new hardware depending on speaker manufacturer."

well discovered! i didn't think to look at the preview page. I think this depends on what hardware is needed to support the mesh network they must be implementing to sync playback.

At 72mins - Federighi mentions 'Many of us already own a great Airplay 2 compatible speaker, and those are the ones connected to our Apple TV'. I wonder if this means that anyone who has an Apple TV essentially gets an upgrade to Airplay 2?

sounds that way. at least for the latest iteration of apple tv. if preexisting hardware like the apple tv is upgradable, my hope is that yamaha (in my case) issues a software update to support this.

As Der keyser put it though,

I think you can be fairly - if not 100% - sure that no existing airplay systems will (or maybe even can) be upgraded to airplay 2.
First of I assume theres both codec and bandwidth considerations existing hardware was not designed to handle, but also as keyser put it
Why would any vendor add this feature when it's somehing Apple has introduced and not themselves? It's the perfect alibi to sell you a new piece of hardware with the opportunity to blame it on apple. In the end its all about selling more stuff.

I've sent in a query to Yamaha regarding support for Airplay2 and will post here if I ever hear back from them. Cheers guys!

 

[jacg]

AirPlay 1 has always had multi room support from iTunes on a Mac. Sounds like the biggest change is to iOS 11. I always wondered why multiroom wasn't available there.

It would be a shame if my old airport expresses (some very old) weren't compatible, since they've essentially been doing multiroom for many years.