How does AirPlay 2 work?Īnd then in 2018 came a much-needed update to Apple’s own streaming protocol: AirPlay 2.

As long as your Apple device and the AirPlay speaker are on the same wi-fi network, music can be streamed between the two at the tap of a button. Updates to AirPlay over the years have made the set-up process much simpler and quicker, and streaming is far more reliable. Those early products also didn’t have the most stable connection, so music would often drop out. During the early days of AirPlay, setting products up was a complicated, long-winded process that required an extra app – it was hardly seamless. Setting itself apart from Bluetooth, AirPlay uses your home’s wi-fi network to send content from one source (iPhone, iPod etc) to one compatible product (speaker, AV receiver, soundbar).

It was based on Apple’s ‘AirTunes’ software from 2004, which was predominantly used to stream audio from iTunes to AirPort Express, so you could wirelessly listen to music across your home network from your Apple device. Originally it was a way to stream audio, video and photos wirelessly to the Apple TV, but eventually this opened up to include dedicated audio products. The first iteration of AirPlay launched back in 2010 as part of iOS 4 (around the time of the iPhone 4).

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