To me the only thing preventing the PM to be “future proof” is the lack of support for 5 Ghz wifi. In my case this is not a problem because wifi works well and must stay 2,4 Ghz to allow standalone wifi speaker compatibility and sensitive connections are hardwired.
The ability of using it as a tiny basic Audiomaster is perfect to use a spare pair of Beolab.
I too thought of using a playmaker for TV, but the main problem is the lack of audio output in modern TVs. Of course you can use any audio extractor but I hate to have a collection of boxes and PSU behind the TV.
As for Airplay 2, You’re right, it may be a major downside. But when you’re streaming from a computer, it’s not a problem in since you can add and select many Airplay 1 devices.
Thanks for your kind words.