How do I play Apple Music?

[adias]

It confused me too so I googled a bit and it appears what’s being described is Handoff, usually to a HomePod. This Reddit page has screenshots but I don’t get the “control other speakers” option under the airplay list on my IPad. I wonder if it needs a HomePod device visible on the network before it does? Anyway, I can’t reproduce what”s being described.

https://www.reddit.com/r/shortcuts/comments/n7dopp/control_other_speakers_tvs

Play audio from iPhone on HomePod and other wireless speakers

Stream audio wirelessly from iPhone to AirPlay 2-enabled devices and Bluetooth devices.

support.apple.com

Yeah it’s a mess. One needs to create a “home hub” which needs a aTV or a pod… so not possible without those.

 

[JohnW]

I have 2 HomePods and 2 Apple TVs in Homekit with any one of them being a hub. I also have my Wiim Amps added to Homekit and have Handoff turned on. Neither option works for me.

Option 1 - Unless something is already playing on the Wiim Amp, clicking on the speaker in the Home app just gives a greyed out screen with the speaker controls; nothing to control as nothing is loaded and no playlists appear.

Option 2 - When I click the airplay icon I have 'Speakers & TVs' - everything is listed in there that's Airplay capable (2 HomePods, 2 Apple TVs, Samsung TVs, Denon X3800H and my Wiim Amps). Beneath that there's 'Control Other Speakers & TVs' but clicking that just opens a window on my iPhone showing only the 2 HomePods and 2 Apple TVs for selection and not the Wiim devices.

Having the Apple Music app integrated within the Wiim app (as it has been for Sonos even on the old S1 app for about 10 years) is what I'm interested in. I moved from Sonos S1 to Wiim for the benefit/ease of Airplay but TBH it's not all that and full integration with Music would be ideal.

 

[Balthazar B]

Having the Apple Music app integrated within the Wiim app (as it has been for Sonos even on the old S1 app for about 10 years) is what I'm interested in. I moved from Sonos S1 to Wiim for the benefit/ease of Airplay but TBH it's not all that and full integration with Music would be ideal.

That would be nice, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, to this point, unless your given name is Elon Musk, or your corporate name is Sonos, Apple appears not to know nor care that you even exist, except as a nuisance. I had hope for a while that since Apple was purportedly requiring its divisions and services to earn their keep on their P&Ls, they would see some value in meaningfully spreading their service offerings well beyond the walls of their cozy garden, and meeting their competition head on. But that has not come to pass, and possibly never will.

 

[hoohoohoo]

That would be nice, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, to this point, unless your given name is Elon Musk, or your corporate name is Sonos, Apple appears not to know nor care that you even exist, except as a nuisance. I had hope for a while that since Apple was purportedly requiring its divisions and services to earn their keep on their P&Ls, they would see some value in meaningfully spreading their service offerings well beyond the walls of their cozy garden, and meeting their competition head on. But that has not come to pass, and possibly never will.

Agreed. Apple doesn't get out of bed unless it's a $25B market opportunity. WiiM isn't even close.

 

[dckiwi]

I have a WiiM Pro and have used it as an Airplay destination for quite some time.

However recently I was surprised to discover that - much like a HomePod - you can actually stream Apple Music directly to the WiiM Pro. It's not that apparent - you have to either:

1. Create a scene in the Home app with the WiiM Pro to play music from your Apple Music library (including Apple Radio stations).
2. From the iOS (or MacOS) music app, click 'Control Other Speakers', choose the WiiM Pro, and then return to your library to select music to play.

The music will then play, even if your iOS device is turned off.

Hey all,

I realize my post caused some confusion, so I wanted to circle back with an update on the two options I described above:

1. I recorded an example of creating a scene in the Home App, with one of my WiiM Pro speakers. As you can see I can select any music in my Apple Library (and any Apple Music radio station). Once I've created it, I run the scene and show that the music is playing on this WiiM Pro. You'll have to take my word for it that it's playing directly from the WiiM Pro - it is NOT Airplaying from my iPhone.

Also, after I ran that scene, I opened up the WiiM Pro 'speaker' in the Home app and you can see that it let me choose from a selection of other playlists from my Apple Music (and podcasts from the Apple Podcasts app). It's not very useful because it's only a small sample of my library, but you can see that I can independently play this music on the WiiM Pro through the Home app as well.

2. Several other people replied saying that they don't see their Wiim Pro in the Music app under 'Control Other Speakers & TVs'. I just tried to reproduce this to take more video, and my WiiM Pros are no longer listed there! I can assure you they were there (alongside my HomePods and Apple TVs) for several weeks, and I was able to independently control music on them from the Music app. I will see if I can figure out what changed.

So yeah, overall it's a mess. But clearly the capability for the WiiM Pro to stream from Apple Music and podcast services is there, it just doesn't work reliably.

 

[dckiwi]

Ok - I've now been able to get option 2 working (select the WiiM Pro directly through Apple Music).

In order to make my WiiM Pro appear as an option, I first had to create an Apple Home scene that includes this speaker! Once I did that (and ran the scene once), the WiiM Pro shows up in the Music app when I select 'Control Other Speakers & TVs'.

I created this video to show it in action.

1. I start controlling the music on my phone (Counting Crows).
2. I click 'Control Other Speakers & TVs', and select 'Back Yard' (my WiiM Pro).
3. I resume playing a song that was paused (Van Morrison).
4. I pause that song and minimize back to the music library. I'm still controlling the WiiM Pro at this point.
5. I select another track (twenty one pilots).
6. That track begins playing on the WiiM Pro.
7. While leaving that track playing, I click 'Control Other Speakers & TVs', and select my iPhone.
8. I resume playing Counting Crows on my iPhone, while twenty one pilots is still playing on the WiiM Pro.

So there you go - it's possible to control the WiiM Pro from the iOS Music app (and the MacOS Music app), independently of the device you're controlling it from.

 

[adias]

Ok - I've now been able to get option 2 working (select the WiiM Pro directly through Apple Music).

In order to make my WiiM Pro appear as an option, I first had to create an Apple Home scene that includes this speaker! Once I did that (and ran the scene once), the WiiM Pro shows up in the Music app when I select 'Control Other Speakers & TVs'.

I created this video to show it in action.

1. I start controlling the music on my phone (Counting Crows).
2. I click 'Control Other Speakers & TVs', and select 'Back Yard' (my WiiM Pro).
3. I resume playing a song that was paused (Van Morrison).
4. I pause that song and minimize back to the music library. I'm still controlling the WiiM Pro at this point.
5. I select another track (twenty one pilots).
6. That track begins playing on the WiiM Pro.
7. While leaving that track playing, I click 'Control Other Speakers & TVs', and select my iPhone.
8. I resume playing Counting Crows on my iPhone, while twenty one pilots is still playing on the WiiM Pro.

So there you go - it's possible to control the WiiM Pro from the iOS Music app (and the MacOS Music app), independently of the device you're controlling it from.

Do you have some Apple product pod or appleTV to make it work. When I tried to set it up an Apple device was required to create the hub.

 

[Yanto]

Ok - I've now been able to get option 2 working (select the WiiM Pro directly through Apple Music).

In order to make my WiiM Pro appear as an option, I first had to create an Apple Home scene that includes this speaker! Once I did that (and ran the scene once), the WiiM Pro shows up in the Music app when I select 'Control Other Speakers & TVs'.

I created this video to show it in action.

1. I start controlling the music on my phone (Counting Crows).
2. I click 'Control Other Speakers & TVs', and select 'Back Yard' (my WiiM Pro).
3. I resume playing a song that was paused (Van Morrison).
4. I pause that song and minimize back to the music library. I'm still controlling the WiiM Pro at this point.
5. I select another track (twenty one pilots).
6. That track begins playing on the WiiM Pro.
7. While leaving that track playing, I click 'Control Other Speakers & TVs', and select my iPhone.
8. I resume playing Counting Crows on my iPhone, while twenty one pilots is still playing on the WiiM Pro.

So there you go - it's possible to control the WiiM Pro from the iOS Music app (and the MacOS Music app), independently of the device you're controlling it from.

And you’re getting full hi res playback?

 

[jxrxme]

And you’re getting full hi res playback?

No, it’s still 256kbps AAC like when using AirPlay.

 

[Yanto]

No, it’s still 256kbps AAC like when using AirPlay.

Ok thanks. So is there any benefit doing it that way over using Airplay 2?

 

[dckiwi]

Ok thanks. So is there any benefit doing it that way over using Airplay 2?

Yes, you don't have to leave your phone on / connected to the network to stream music.

At least in my use case, AirPlay 2 from my phone would sometimes cut out, especially if I put my phone in my pocket outside etc.

 

[Yanto]

Yes, you don't have to leave your phone on / connected to the network to stream music.

At least in my use case, AirPlay 2 from my phone would sometimes cut out, especially if I put my phone in my pocket outside etc.

Ok thank you. I left Apple Music a few months ago because of the issues achieving their hi res lossless files on my home set up. So always interested to hear of ways to achieve full resolution.
Personally I use a separate phone and tablet for streaming so that’s not an issue, and to be fair it was always very stable.

 

[CrystalGipsy]

To achieve this you need to have an Apple home device to setup the automation. Without this you are limited to airplay as home does very little without a HomePod or Apple TV. You can’t create scenes. I imagine the HomePod or Apple TV is sending the stream to the Wiim. The Wiim itself has no way to access the Apple stream directly.

 

[adias]

To achieve this you need to have an Apple home device to setup the automation. Without this you are limited to airplay as home does very little without a HomePod or Apple TV. You can’t create scenes. I imagine the HomePod or Apple TV is sending the stream to the Wiim. The Wiim itself has no way to access the Apple stream directly.

Exactly! Not very useful. Apple, in its 'protected garden’ wisdom does a very poor promoting their streaming service. They know that 99% of their Music subscribers do not care or are able to distinguish proper streaming playback.

 

[jxrxme]

As soon as Amazon Music or Tidal have integrated Siri on HomePods support I’m done with Apple Music. Why they haven’t yet is a mystery to me. It should be obvious that this is the only remaining lock-in Apple has.

 

[QuarryHunslet]

Exactly! Not very useful. Apple, in its 'protected garden’ wisdom does a very poor promoting their streaming service. They know that 99% of their Music subscribers do not care or are able to distinguish proper streaming playback.

It sounds like you are talking about Spotify subscribers.

 

[Yanto]

Exactly! Not very useful. Apple, in its 'protected garden’ wisdom does a very poor promoting their streaming service. They know that 99% of their Music subscribers do not care or are able to distinguish proper streaming playback.

Exactly the reason why I dumped their service.

 

[AGNEL ROSHAN DSILVA]

No, it’s still 256kbps AAC like when using AirPlay.

Yes It is clearly visible on wiim app screen when playing apple music directly from apple music app. Apple music app shows lossless or high res lossless for a song, but for the the same song switching to the wiim app shows 256 kbs, 16 bit, 44.1 khz

 

[Brantome]

Yes It is clearly visible on wiim app screen when playing apple music directly from apple music app. Apple music app shows lossless or high res lossless for a song, but for the the same song switching to the wiim app shows 256 kbs, 16 bit, 44.1 khz

It’s important to note that it isn’t the WiiM doing this - you’d see the same using the iOS/iPadOS Apple Music app to any Airplay 2 device.

 

[Entrigo]

What about wired connection? I used to connect my phone directly to my amp aux with a 3.5 to RCA (through lightning adapter). I recently changed to an older amp without built in DAC (still works but I assume it’s using the crappy iPhone native DAC). I thought I could just plug in my phone to the line in of the Pro Plus and use it as a DAC. As no info comes up from line in input, any idea if it would be hi res or AAC as through Air Play?

It does sound better to my ears but not sure if it is suggestion…