Sonos AirPlay 2

[KingBowser64]

So within the last week or two, Sonos had two major announcements:
1: Sonos One
2: AirPlay 2 Support (Future update)

In our household, we have quite the Sonos and HomeKit setups, which I listed at the bottom of this post. If anyone has any questions about any of the products, feel free to ask me.

The Sonos One update is cool and all, but does not interest our family since we do not use Alexa. For us, the announcement of AirPlay 2 integration caught my attention immediately. I remember years ago debating between AirPlay and Sonos speakers, which sadly, I tried two Zeppelin Air speakers first. These speakers had amazing sound quality, but were quite laggy and unreliable. We switched to Sonos afterwards and never looked back. With HomeKit (finally) growing and after the Apple Keynote this past summer, Apple is bringing speakers into the HomeKit setup. Obviously the Apple HomePod is going to be a part of this HomeKit integration, as Apple has already shown. I have been hoping for Sonos to implement HomeKit support with their speakers for awhile now.

I am a bit confused with the announcement that Sonos made and wanted to see what others are thinking. Sonos announced AirPlay 2 support specifically. Does AirPlay 2 support imply HomeKit integration? My takeaway from the Keynote this summer was that AirPlay 2 speakers would be integrated within the Home app so that they could be placed within rooms and could then be grouped together from there. I believe that AirPlay 2 is the protocol used for the speakers, while the Home app is where they are managed by the user.
HomeKit support for Sonos would fix my grip with Sonos that it can only be controlled on the local network. HomeKit would then allow controlling speakers from the Home app, along with the addition of integrating them into scenes, having the ability to use Siri to control them, and allowing remote access of the speakers.
I feel as though HomeKit integration for Sonos would be huge for Apple HomeKit since Sonos has been available for so long.
My fear though is that Sonos specifically said 'AirPlay 2 support' without mentioning anything to do with 'HomeKit.'

After doing some digging, I found this page on Apple's website: https://www.apple.com/shop/ipad/ipad-accessories/homekit?page=1&f=sonos&fh=47e9
It lists a page with a 'HomeKit' title and includes:
-Play: 1
-Play: 5
-Boost
That is the only piece of information that is giving me hope that AirPlay 2 and HomeKit go hand-in-hand.




Our Sonos setup:
-2x Playbars
-3x Subs
-14x Play: 1
-10x Play: 5 Gen 2
-1x Boost

Our HomeKit setup:
-Philips Hue lights
-August Doorbells (Hopefully updated to HomeKit)
-August Locks
-Honeywell Lyric Thermostats
-D-Link Omna Cameras
-Chamberlain MyQ Bridges
-Elgato Eve Room Sensors
-Elgato Eve Door/Window Sensors
-Fibaro Door/Window Sensors
-Fibaro Flood Sensors
-Nanoleaf Aurora Lights
-iDevices Switches
-FirstAlert OneLink Smoke/CO Alarms (hardwired)

 

[wesley96]

According to the following article, AirPlay 2 support does indeed imply HomeKit integration:
http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/141...w-does-it-work-and-what-devices-are-supported

Choice quotes:

Apple AirPlay 2 will add speaker control to the Home app, meaning you will be able to individually control all of your AirPlay speakers from your iPhone for the first time. This is something that can already be done using a MacBook with iTunes, but iOS devices have lacked the ability.

AirPlay 2 will also be able to be used with other HomeKit devices to create scenes. Imagine coming home and not only your lights coming on to welcome you but a fanfare of trumpets played through AirPlay 2 supporting speakers. On a more serious note though, you could use it to alert you of certain things that are happening - like an alarm - or merely that part of your evening routine is to have music played at a certain time automatically without you having to worry about turning it on.

 

[cynics]

Yes.

Sonos said at an event they were integrated AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support to give the user Siri control of their Sonos speakers.

Specific device support seems to be up in the air still and the release isn't supposed to be until "next year".

 

[scouser75]

I'm on the verge of buying a Sonos One (hoping also for a Black Friday discount).

With this whole HomeKit lark (and it is a lark from Apple) - my concern is that many people are not prepared to play with Apple. Why I do not know (but most probably because of Apple's rigid stance on many things). I would love a nest door bell and camera's, but this just isn't going to happen because of this Google thing.

What indoor and outdoor cameras would you recommend? Right now I'm looking at the Ring products.

 

[vipergts2207]

I'm on the verge of buying a Sonos One (hoping also for a Black Friday discount).

With this whole HomeKit lark (and it is a lark from Apple) - my concern is that many people are not prepared to play with Apple. Why I do not know (but most probably because of Apple's rigid stance on many things). I would love a nest door bell and camera's, but this just isn't going to happen because of this Google thing.

What indoor and outdoor cameras would you recommend? Right now I'm looking at the Ring products.

Netatmo is bringing HomeKit compatibility to their indoor and outdoor cameras. The nice thing about them is the storage is all done locally so there are no video storage subscription fees.

 

[scouser75]

Netatmo is bringing HomeKit compatibility to their indoor and outdoor cameras. The nice thing about them is the storage is all done locally so there are no video storage subscription fees.

A good product but my are their designs atrocious! They have a great 25% discount on right now too!

 

[rhett7660]

Not that this post will answer your question about Airplay 2, but man I have a few (five of them) Sonos speakers throughout the house and I picked up an Alexa Dot and WOW. I am not getting one for each room. It was super simple to setup and man does it work! I was controlling all of my Sonos's speakers within minutes and also all of my smart lights. Not to mention thermostat and a plethora of apps! I am sold.

 

[cynics]

Not that this post will answer your question about Airplay 2, but man I have a few (five of them) Sonos speakers throughout the house and I picked up an Alexa Dot and WOW. I am not getting one for each room. It was super simple to setup and man does it work! I was controlling all of my Sonos's speakers within minutes and also all of my smart lights. Not to mention thermostat and a plethora of apps! I am sold.

I have a friend that went all in with Alexa and variety of smart devices. While I still prefer HomeKit for the security his setup works just as well (probably capable of being better) and he was able to set it up in minutes (like you said) except he isn't a techie guy at all.

 

[rhett7660]

I have a friend that went all in with Alexa and variety of smart devices. While I still prefer HomeKit for the security his setup works just as well (probably capable of being better) and he was able to set it up in minutes (like you said) except he isn't a techie guy at all.

I will eventually move it all to homekit, or at least portions of to it, but there is still a lot I don't know about it and want to read up on it some more. But so far, I am really happy with what it is doing and plan on adding more dots throughout the house!

 

[cynics]

I will eventually move it all to homekit, or at least portions of to it, but there is still a lot I don't know about it and want to read up on it some more. But so far, I am really happy with what it is doing and plan on adding more dots throughout the house!

The affordability of the Dots to add whole house voice control makes it really appealing. I have enough Apple products for Siri that it isn't a concern for me personally however it unrealistic for me to suggest it as a solution for voice control. Minus the AppleTV's you can buy 11 Amazon Dots for the price of my next cheapest device that can leverage voice control (Hey Siri).

Using Hey Siri at home and remotely via the Apple Watch is nice though. Albeit it defines pretentious so well I try not to let people around me see me doing it. Lol.

 

[rhett7660]

The affordability of the Dots to add whole house voice control makes it really appealing. I have enough Apple products for Siri that it isn't a concern for me personally however it unrealistic for me to suggest it as a solution for voice control. Minus the AppleTV's you can buy 11 Amazon Dots for the price of my next cheapest device that can leverage voice control (Hey Siri).

Using Hey Siri at home and remotely via the Apple Watch is nice though. Albeit it defines pretentious so well I try not to let people around me see me doing it. Lol.

The price of the Dot is one reason I started out down this path. Picked it up on black friday, and now it looks like that might be the price for a few more days or weeks, so I will be picking up several more for the remainder of the house.

This is my first real dabble into house voice control and I am hooked and so is the wife, which to some extent is more important lol.

 

[scouser75]

So what would be the best option for us iOS users? Amazon Echo? Or Sonos One?

I was told recently that even though the Sonos One will have Siri support it will be via the iPad or iPhone and not directly from the Sonos. Can anyone confirm this?

In the UK the echo currently is £70. The Sonos I can get for £160.

 

[whsbuss]

I have a Sonos One. The Alexa portion is in beta and has tons of music service command issues. Lightning works just fine and some other skills..... its a work in progress. I don't think there will ever be direct Siri support for it (remember the HomePod is coming). Where AirPlay2 will come in handy is Apple Music is those smart and genius playlists that can't be played on the Sonos app.

 

[scouser75]

I have a Sonos One. The Alexa portion is in beta and has tons of music service command issues. Lightning works just fine and some other skills..... its a work in progress. I don't think there will ever be direct Siri support for it (remember the HomePod is coming). Where AirPlay2 will come in handy is Apple Music is those smart and genius playlists that can't be played on the Sonos app.

Thanks mate. I'm guessing I'll also be able to play music from my iTunes library, right?

So would I be better of then to go with an Amazon Echo instead if the £100 extra Sonos One? Speaker quality is not a major issue. So long as it's clear and not distorted I'm happy.

 

[whsbuss]

Thanks mate. I'm guessing I'll also be able to play music from my iTunes library, right?

So would I be better of then to go with an Amazon Echo instead if the £100 extra Sonos One? Speaker quality is not a major issue. So long as it's clear and not distorted I'm happy.

Yes you will be able to AirPlay2 from iTunes. As far as the Echo goes, I don't believe it will have AirPlay2.

 

[scouser75]

Yes you will be able to AirPlay2 from iTunes. As far as the Echo goes, I don't believe it will have AirPlay2.

No. Echo doesn't have airplay 2. But even then, would it be a good option for ios users?

And I meant, will I be able to play music stored on my iTunes library on iphone via Sonos voice control?

 

[whsbuss]

No. Echo doesn't have airplay 2. But even then, would it be a good option for ios users?

And I meant, will I be able to play music stored on my iTunes library on iphone via Sonos voice control?

No I don't think you can use Sonos via Alexa to call up Apple music or iTunes.

 

[scouser75]

No I don't think you can use Sonos via Alexa to call up Apple music or iTunes.

Sorry. I meant will I be able to call it up via Siri when Sonos introduce this feature in 2018?

 

[whsbuss]

Sorry. I meant will I be able to call it up via Siri when Sonos introduce this feature in 2018?

Not sure

 

[scouser75]

I jumped and ordered a Sonos One. Now fingers crossed Sonos comes through with their Siri and AirPlay 2 promise in 2018.

whsbuss thanks for all your help and advice.

 

[whsbuss]

If you like music, Sonos has the best sound quality. Enjoy!

 

[scouser75]

Thanks mate. To be honest, I'm not a big music listener unless I'm driving. The One is really for my wife. I got a good deal on the One so took a gamble over the Echo Plus as the price difference was about £40.

I just hope I can control radio by voice control or else it's going to have to go back!

 

[whsbuss]

Thanks mate. To be honest, I'm not a big music listener unless I'm driving. The One is really for my wife. I got a good deal on the One so took a gamble over the Echo Plus as the price difference was about £40.

I just hope I can control radio by voice control or else it's going to have to go back!

You can control radio.