Users can pair both HomePods in stereo mode and set it as audio output on iPhone, iPad and even Apple TV. However, using a stereo pair of HomePods on a Mac is not that easy. MacOS Big Sur 11.3 beta, released for developers today, finally adds an option to set stereo-paired HomePods as the default audio output on Mac.
In previous versions of macOS, stereo-paired HomePods were available as an option in the Music app or for other AirPlay content, but you had to select them for each content via the AirPlay menu. By trying to select stereo-paired HomePods as the default option, macOS displays the left and right sides as separate output.
With MacOS Big Sur 11.3 beta installed, the system now shows a HomePod pair as a single option in the audio output list instead of showing each HomePod separately. Once you click on the pair of HomePods, the system will automatically use it to play sounds in stereo mode.
The feature is not working consistently yet, but it’s still a big step forward compared to the experience Mac users have had with the HomePod so far. It is worth noting that you can only use two HomePods to play stereo sound from media such as music and videos in different applications, but the system sounds remain only on the built-in Mac speakers.
As by me 9to5Mac colleague Ben Lovejoy, Apple has never implemented AirPlay 2 on macOS, and only added it to some of the original applications of the system. This may indicate that the company is finally implementing its latest audio protocol on the system.
The reason for this is incredible because the MacOS system not only supports AirPlay 2, but only AirPlay 1. Yes, the latest version of Apple’s flagship operating system does not support the latest version of Apple’s own audio protocol. Apple has built the protocols into its audio applications, but not into macOS itself.
macOS Big Sur 11.3 is now available exclusively to developers and is unclear when Apple plans to release it to the public.
Also read:
FTC: We use revenue to earn automatically affiliate links. More.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more Apple news: