Spotify might never support AirPlay 2 protocol, the changes would be too big to implement.
Streaming services have evolved a lot in recent years, whether in quality, in their catalog or in terms of ancillary services. Spotify, for example, offers many third-party features. That being said, those who are waiting for support for Apple’s AirPlay 2 protocol will have to wait a bit longer.
Spotify might never support AirPlay 2 protocol
In 2018, the Cupertino company announced its new AirPlay standard, simply called AirPlay 2. Among the features offered by AirPlay 2, we can mention in particular multiroom audio, voice control via Siri and better caching. If you are an AirPlay user and have been waiting for Spotify to fully support it, you will certainly be disappointed to learn that it is not for now.
The changes would be too big to implement
In a post on the Spotify Community page, the company announced that the AirPlay 2 implementation has been put on hold. No one knows when the project will resume but based on the statements of the moderator of Spotify Community, it could be that this pause is final.
According to the post in question, “we have discussed this idea internally and although we are working on perfect support for AirPlay 2, we have decided to put the project on hold for now. The reason behind this decision is due to the fact that, due to audio driver compatibility concerns, it appears that the project is on a larger scale than expected and that we cannot complete it in the relatively near future. ”
And while Spotify and Apple don’t really have the best relationship in the world, developer Nathan Lawrence says on Twitter that it’s more of a technical issue. According to Nathan Lawrence, adding support for AirPlay 2 would mean reviewing the way the app handles audio, especially when there is DRM. In other words, it is not easy.
It’s easy to criticize a thing like this, but there is actually a technical gap that is very difficult for an audio app with heavy DRM to close when it comes to this feature. You can’t just flip a switch—you have to revisit all your audio processing. I feel the developers’ pain. https://t.co/IrwyIY9Uwn
— Nathan Lawrence 🌈 (@NathanBLawrence) August 6, 2021