Spotify Suspends Plans to Add AirPlay 2 Support to iOS App for “Foreseeable Future”

Spotify confirmed this week that its intention to add AirPlay 2 support to its iOS app has been indefinitely suspended.

In an online discussion forum post, a representative for Spotify said the music streaming service is working on support for AirPlay 2, but the company has suspended efforts “for now” due to “audio driver compatibility issues”. The representative described AirPlay 2 support as a “bigger project that we won’t be able to complete in the foreseeable future.”

AirPlay 2 was released as part of iOS 11.4 in May 2018 with several improvements to the original AirPlay wireless audio protocol, including multi-room audio, Siri voice control, and improved buffering. An app can support AirPlay 2 by implementing AVFoundation framework APIs, with a four-step process described on Apple’s developer website.

Spotify has yet to add native support for the HomePod (or its mini successor HomePod), despite Apple opening up the speakerphone to third-party music services last year. This despite Spotify filing a complaint against Apple with the European Commission in March 2019, which accused the iPhone maker of “locking down Spotify and other competitors of Apple services such as Siri, HomePod and Apple Watch”.

We have reached out to Spotify for comment and will provide an update if we have a response.