AirPlay is the extremely popular wireless media sharing protocol developed by Apple Inc. It is one of the easiest ways to send content from you to another person or from your Apple devices to other compatible gadgets. Considering that nearly 120 million iPhone users are estimated to be in the United States, a lot of people are potentially using AirPlay. But, of course, that’s not including the number of people with iPads or computers running macOS.
AirPlay is so convenient that it has become a part of daily life for many people. Another thing that has become a part of many people’s daily routine is their smart home speaker. These smart speakers, a market category led by Amazon’s Echo devices, have their market growing more and more each year, with people realizing how convenient it is to have one of these at home.
So, it is almost natural to wonder, when two things essentially become daily occupants of our lives, can they work together? Can Alexa use AirPlay? It’s exciting to think about, and I wondered about it so much that I decided to figure out whether it was possible. Everything I learned is what I’ve put into this post for you all.
So then, let’s talk about it. Can you use AirPlay with your Amazon Echo device, and how does it work if you can? Let’s jump right into all the answers.
Do you have a particular question about how can Alexa use AirPlay? Then use the table of contents below to jump to the most relevant section. And you can always go back by clicking on the black arrow in the right bottom corner of the page. Also, please note that some of the links in this article may be affiliate links. For more details, check the Disclosure section at the bottom of the page.
Here's what we'll cover:
Does Alexa have AirPlay?
Unfortunately, by default, you will find that the Amazon Echo was not built to be able to receive media such as music over the AirPlay wireless protocol. This is unfortunate, and not much can be done by the user on the software side.
However, suppose you have an Amazon Echo and any Apple device. In that case, you can still stream music to the smart speaker using Bluetooth. If you’re not certain how to do this, you can achieve it by following the steps below:
- Grab your Apple device. I’ll be assuming it is an iPhone in this case, but the steps should not differ too extensively with an iPad or a Mac.
- Open the Settings app on your phone.
- Navigate through the list and select Bluetooth.
- Now, you will need to ensure that your Amazon Echo is in pairing mode so that your Apple device can detect Alexa. Say “Alexa, pair” to do this. You’ll hear an audio prompt to tell you that Alexa is now ready to pair.
- Look on your iPhone screen. You should get a pairing notification. Select “Pair.” You should see the Echo in the Bluetooth menu if you don’t get the notification. Select it there.
- You will hear another sound to indicate that the pairing is successful. Now all you need to do is open your music app and play it, which will play through Alexa. When connected by Bluetooth, you can use voice commands to get Alexa to play, pause, or skip to the next song or the previous song.
Can Alexa use AirPlay?
Suppose you’re really bent on being able to use AirPlay with your Amazon Echo. In that case, there is a way you can get it done, and that’s by using an Amazon Echo AirPlay hack. The only thing with this hack is that you will need to be very comfortable with computers and be ready to buy some external gadgets to make the setup work.
It is a complicated procedure, so if you’re willing to go through with it, you can check how it was done through this link.
Alternatively, you can use this other method to get it done, but note that this one will probably set you back a lot more financially. But it also has some caveats.
How to add Alexa to AirPlay?
Suppose you’re wondering can Alexa use AirPlay. In that case, there’s, unfortunately, no way to add Alexa to AirPlay, as it is a proprietary software protocol from Apple. Amazon needs to build its Echo devices to support it. However, I won’t say there’s zero possibility of it being added in future models.
How to use Alexa Cast?
Suppose you use Amazon Music as one of your primary sources of listening to tracks. In that case, Alexa Cast is almost as good as having AirPlay. For now, it is just limited to Amazon’s music streaming service. Still, hopefully, in the future, it will grow to include others.
You can use the Alexa Cast button in the Amazon Music app on Android and iOS to send the track you’re listening to straight to connected Echo devices. This works super quickly, making it convenient to play music at home. And guess what, if you’re using the app on iOS, it will allow you to use Amazon Cast to AirPlay-compatible speakers, which is incredible.
Because it is not available for Fire TV yet, you won’t be able to have Alexa cast to TV, but hopefully, that will come with an update.
Credits: Thanks for the photo to Canva.
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