Apple lists speakers that work with AirPlay 2 streaming
Sonos, Beats and Bose will support the standard in the near future.
Today, Apple released iOS 11.4, bringing with it AirPlay 2, Apple's latest standard for streaming audio, video and games to your speakers or TV. One of the key features of AirPlay 2 is the option to play audio through two HomePod speakers in stereo -- that's the only speaker which supports AirPlay 2 right now. But there are a number of third-party speakers you can also soon use with AirPlay 2, with the option to chain them together to set up groups and multi-room playback.
Among the initial wave of speaker brands supporting AirPlay 2 is Sonos. The company is holding an event next week, probably related to a home theater system, but we might also learn more about its AirPlay 2 plans. As of now, the only speakers we know Sonos will support with the standard are the Play:5, Playbase and voice-activated One. But, if you have other Sonos speakers, you can group them with one of those models to enable multi-room playback.
Other makers that will support AirPlay 2 include Apple's own Beats brand, along with Bose, Bang and Olufsen, Denon, Libratone, Marantz, Naim, Devialet, Dynaudio, Polk, McIntosh, Bowers & Wilkins, BlueSound and Definitive Technology. You can check out the full list of confirmed models supporting AirPlay 2 here, though brands yet to announce which specific speakers will back the standard don't appear on that rundown.