B&O is actually ready to push the sw update to enable AirPlay 2.0, but they will have to wait for Apple to launch and distribute it for their own products first. B&O says that Apple will do so during the first months of 2018... not very accurate, but I guess this is Apple's way of doing things😁 

A more interesting note, at least to me, is that some of their wireless speakers will get built-in voice control later in 2018. They have a prototype BS1 at CES.

Roger

Indeed, the HomePod seems to be taking an awfully long time to get out.

As for voice control, interesting about the prototype BS1 - but not surprising. Have mentioned here quite a bit recently that voice control is coming to everything B&O. An idea i hate personally, but seems inevitable more broadly.

Voice control?? 

If you can't make a simple audiostreamer 100% working,forget voicecontrol.

Agreed, though the challenges are probably different and who knows how problematic or smooth it will be. The B&O products will be using Google Assistant and Alexa (and perhaps also Siri), so its not B&O creating their own voice protocol.

Anyway, i hate the idea of talking to machines and gadgets, especially prefixing everything with a "Hey Google" or whatever. If i could do it without the "Hey Siri" etc, i wouldn't mind so much.

But its all the rage, everyday objects are being loaded with software and features and becoming a gadget, voice control and all.

The good thing is, that you don’t have to do it, if you don’t feel like talking to your speaker/setup.

But no other brand offers speakers with such a versatility, as B&O does/is going to do, when implemented.

Many ways to use and control them ;-)

Personally I don’t need to talk to my speaker (it probably won’t do, what i demand from it, anyway).

But I am fine with the offer for people (Android, Amazon or Apple), who want to do so.

....and support for AirPlay 2 does not mean, that I have to speak to it - it simply is a multiroom protocol

for those, who prefer a music distribution via AirPlay.

MM

Of course, all understood and agreed.

Voice integration only irritates me because of how much airspace is occupies at the moment. I'm not structurally opposed to it, but in its current form it works only so well. So irrespective of how cheaply Google and Amazon give away entry level devices, i'm not drawn towards using voice as an interface. When it gets better, sure.

Anyway, i'm having some tech anxiety, so forgive me. Looking at some of the CES 2018 reports, i find some of the demo's a little alarming to me. Firstly because everything is becoming a software dependant gadget - which brings all sorts of issues to me, from accelerated obsolescence to restrictions on service. Secondly, regular stuff is just getting so complex that very few understand them (how to fix them, how to chose between them). Rant over. 

As for Airplay 2, good news that much of the existing speaker range will gain the capability - in line with what we were told by dealers a while back. Sometimes we should believe them perhaps! 

Airplay 2 is another protocol allowing multiroom... So if Beolink doesn't work because of a future software update, there's a backup!

Anyway, what is a bit fun is that because of limitations of HDMI digital audio sharing, I cannot share the sound from my Applet TV connected to my BV8 (I don't know if that's possible with newer TVs), but with the Airplay 2 update, I will be able to share the Apple TV sound to all my rooms, hopefully in sync ;-)

I use beolink for B&O devices. Airplay for Apple devices. Sonos for Sonos Play:1 devices.
Sonos announced Airplay 2 support. I hope my old Play:1 devices will be updated.
I dream of being able to mix them all via Airplay 2.

I'm currently re-visiting Apples iTunes Match to see if I'll gain something now Airplay 2 is arriving soon.
That way I play my own music in HiFi, when I'm home.

The killer would be Apple Music HiFi 🙂

Roger wrote:

A more interesting note, at least to me, is that some of their wireless speakers will get built-in voice control later in 2018. They have a prototype BS1 at CES.

Roger