I test Wi-Fi speakers for a living — if you’re switching away from Sonos, this one feature is an absolute must-have
When upgrading your wireless speaker, it can be tempting to focus on finding the most innovative features. Spatial audio. AI-enriched voice assistants. HDMI input for home cinema sound. But sometimes you’ll find that it’s the more prosaic features that you’ll miss the most if they’re absent.
I’ve tested many wireless speakers in my career, so I have plenty of experience with both feature-rich superstars and no-frills Wi-Fi workhorses. But I’m also very invested in the Apple ecosystem: I use an iPhone 16 Pro, a MacBook Pro, an 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 new to the Sonos ecosystem and, like me, Apple gadgets are your go-to, let me tell you why this is still a killer feature when choosing one of the best wireless speakers.
The argument for AirPlay
Peruse the specs of some wireless speakers and you’d be forgiven for thinking that AirPlay 2 is a ubiquitous feature these days. But this is not always the case. For example, Amazon’s Echo line doesn’t support this technology, not even in lossless Echo Studio. And while testing my recent Sonos Era 100 VS WiiM Sound feature, I was surprised to discover that the latter didn’t have AirPlay 2. So it’s certainly not always a no-brainer.
But why is it important? Well, for several reasons.
First, while many wireless speakers let you stream lossless and even high-resolution audio directly from services like Tidal or Deezer, fewer devices can stream natively from Apple Music. So if you’re not using a HomePod or Sonos multiroom system, AirPlay 2 offers the only way to enjoy quality lossless music from Apple Music wirelessly.
It’s not just about streaming services. A much bigger benefit of AirPlay 2 is the fact that it allows you to wirelessly stream all kinds of audio from your Apple devices. Tired of seeing your TV emit bland sound? With Apple TV 4K, you can stream audio wirelessly to your multi-room speaker system. Playing Extraterrestrial: isolation on your 11-inch iPad (2025)? You can then enjoy its spooky soundtrack with real depth by connecting to an AirPlay-enabled speaker.
I know how flexible AirPlay 2 can be. Not only do I stream music and TV shows to my Apple devices, but I also often use them to create content. When producing music on my 2017 MacBook Pro, being able to send my audio to a high-resolution speaker like my Cambridge Audio Evo One allows me to hear what it sounds like on a different setup without having to worry about wired connections. This kind of versatility is truly unbeatable and the fact that I can do this with any audio from my Apple devices is truly invaluable to me.
So when you’re shopping for a new wireless speaker, yes, it’s worth looking for fancy features like Dolby Atmos or automatic room compensation. But if you’re an Apple user, don’t sleep on AirPlay because it will add value in all sorts of subtle ways that you might not even be able to predict yet.
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