While I have switched to HomePods for other rooms in our house, they aren’t really suitable for our kitchen due to limited counter space. For that room, I have been using a traditional receiver and speakers above the cabinets. This isn’t acoustically ideal, but it works well enough. The main issue I’ve had with this setup is that my receiver didn’t support AirPlay 2. This meant it couldn’t be part of any multi-room audio and more importantly, couldn’t be automated. What I’ve long wanted is to have music already playing as I come downstairs for breakfast.¹

Receivers with AirPlay 2 support have existed for years now, but they’ve been stupidly expensive given my otherwise basic needs. “Stupidly expensive” followed by “supply chain issues” kept me chugging along with my non-AirPlay 2 receiver until just this weekend, when the Denon DRA-800H went on sale for the still expensive, but not stupidly so price of $500².

Setting up the new receiver was easy enough with the exception of one glaring problem, I could not for the life of me figure out how to add it to Apple’s Home app. The process usually involves some code, either by scanning some QR-like blob or through manual entry. This receiver did not have such code nor did it advertise itself as “Works with HomeKit”. At this point it was reasonable to assume this receiver didn’t work with HomeKit and therefore couldn’t be added to the Home app. Naturally, the Home app cannot automate a device it is unaware of. I could attempt to use a personal automation, but I have never reliably streamed music from my iPhone. Even if I could, the whole idea that I’d have to use my iPhone in a house filled with Apple TV’s and HomePods is absurd.

To say I was frustrated would be an understatement.

Eventually, I searched the web for a workaround and to my great joy, I found this post by Tim Hardwick on MacRumors. It turns out you can add any AirPlay 2 “speaker³” without the usual code by tapping “More options…” in the Add Accessory prompt. While this process was super easy once I found it, I don’t understand why it was hidden in the first place. Why can’t the Home app more prominently surface new speakers once they’ve been added to the network? Why not include the Home setup when adding the receiver to the network using iOS’s specific feature for adding speakers to the network!?

The whole rigamarole reminded me of how poor of a job Apple’s done getting AirPlay 2 adoption. To me, HomePods are like the apps that come with iOS and macOS, in that they are good enough for most people. What makes Apple’s platforms really sing is the rich set of third party solutions for customers who want to do more. AirPlay 2 should similarly be for customers who want to do more with their home audio. I think it’s close, but Apple needs to further streamline adding AirPlay 2 devices to the Home app and work with device makers to ensure that streamlined setup is better communicated to their mutual customers.