

- Apple airport express airplay 2 update#
- Apple airport express airplay 2 upgrade#
- Apple airport express airplay 2 mac#
Maybe it will be manufactured by Apple’s new best friend, Logitech. What I hope Apple introduces is a rebranded/redesigned AirPort Express for $49, that ditches all of the wireless networking stuff and just acts as an AirPlay 2 audio repeater. What has actually happened is completely incongruous. When the decision came down to retire the AirPort line, the work on this feature should have been axed as well. That’s really screwed up messaging in my book. The AirPlay 2 ecosystem does not have an equivalent product, apart from a product that you can’t buy anymore. The Express is like a Chromecast, a glorified dongle. The closest alternative is buying an AirPlay 2 receiver I suppose, but I think that’s obviously aiming at a very different demographic. The AirPort Express has no successor, no future, and no substitute. The support given to the older phones makes their owners more likely to buy another iPhone when they come to upgrade, and it advances the app ecosystem by carrying forward millions of existing customers as potential markets for developers making apps that targets the latest and greatest OS. The features introduced in iOS 12 are available for customers buying the currently-sold new-in-box phones. What does Apple expect people to do? Scrounge on eBay for some second-hand AirPort Express units and hope they win the treasure hunt bidding war? When Apple updates iOS for older iPhones that they no longer sell, with iOS 12 going all the way back to the discontinued iPhone 5s, they are advancing a platform. Specifically, the absurd part of this is that they rolled this out to a product that they discontinued months ago, the Express has been delisted from the Apple Store, and there isn’t a replacement product for people to buy that can achieve the same result. It’s great that there is now a way to bring dumb speakers into the AirPlay 2 ecosystem, connecting via the Express’s aux input. I am not saying that this is bad for owners of the second-generation AirPort Express. This is way more ridiculous to me than Apple charging $200 for a leather sleeve, or missing a deadline for announced features. Apple released a major feature for a product they don’t sell anymore. I tweeted that this is the most discombobulated thing Apple has done in years, I got a lot of flack, I reassessed, and I still think it’s insane. The teaser for support has been present since iOS 11.4 beta, but support hasn’t been live before today’s version 7.8 firmware update.
Apple airport express airplay 2 update#
Firmware update 7.8 for the latest AirPort Express hardware (2012 2nd-gen model, no longer sold) adds support for AirPlay 2 and Apple’s Home app.
Apple airport express airplay 2 mac#
This utility is available in a Mac version and a Windows version.Apple’s AirPort line may be discontinued, but AirPort Express got one heck of an update today. The AirPort Express is configured with Apple’s Airport Utility software. The 3.5 mm jack also doubles as a miniature digital optical audio output, so you can connect the AirPort to a digital amplifier with a fiber cable as well. With this setup, you can use AirPlay to send music to the AirPort Express which will be played on the external speaker. It also has a 3.5 mm audio output jack which you can connect to a speaker or amplifier. The AirPort Express has two Ethernet ports and a USB port for sharing printers on the wireless network. The design is very similar to Apple’s laptop charger bricks from the time. It can be plugged directly into a power socket using the retractable power prongs on the side of the device (this part of the device is detachable so you can use international prongs instead). In terms of size, the device is slightly larger and thicker than a deck of cards. You can identify the AirPort by looking for the model number A1264 printed in grey letters on the side of the case.

The model A1264 AirPort Express is made from white plastic with ports located on the side.
Apple airport express airplay 2 upgrade#
This upgrade allows you to use either a 2.4 GHz network or a 5 GHz network (but not both at the same time because that feature only arrived in 2012). It is also known as the “AirPort Express 802.11n (First Generation)” because this model was the first in the line to add support for 802.11n Wi-Fi networking.

The model A1264-released in 2008-is a revision to the first-generation AirPort Express expressed earlier in 2004. The Apple AirPort Express is a small device that you can use to create a Wi-Fi network or extend an existing network.
