Guides · 2 June 2026

Wi-Fi streaming on soundbars: AirPlay, Chromecast, Spotify Connect

A soundbar is not only for TV sound. Many models in the comparison table can also play music from a phone, a tablet or a computer over your home Wi-Fi. The Streaming Support column lists the streaming technologies and services the manufacturer states, and the three you see most are AirPlay, Chromecast and Spotify. This guide explains what each one does, using Apple, Google and Spotify documentation as the sources.

Wi-Fi streaming vs Bluetooth

The Available inputs column lists WiFi and Bluetooth separately, and most soundbars list Bluetooth. Bluetooth pairs a phone directly with the soundbar. Samsung documents that its soundbars support SBC data at 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz when connected through Bluetooth.

The Wi-Fi technologies below work differently: the soundbar joins your home network. Google and Spotify both ask for the phone and the speaker to be on the same Wi-Fi network, at least for the first connection. With Google Cast and Spotify Connect, the phone acts as a remote control while the soundbar plays the stream. See all soundbars with Wi-Fi.

AirPlay

AirPlay is Apple's technology. Apple says AirPlay lets you share videos, photos, music and more from Apple devices to Apple TV 4K, speakers, smart TVs and more. For audio, Apple lists these features:

Multiroom: with more than one HomePod or AirPlay-enabled speaker, music plays throughout the house in sync, or different songs play in different rooms.
Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos: many AirPlay-enabled speakers support them over AirPlay.
Siri: Siri can play music on TVs, receivers and speakers that you have added to the Home app.
Calls and games: you can take a call or play a game on your device without interrupting the music.

Apple also lists AirPlay-enabled speakers from home audio brands on its site. In the table, see all soundbars with AirPlay.

Chromecast (Google Cast)

Google's technology is called Google Cast. The table lists it as Chromecast, after Google's own Cast device.

Google's Cast developer overview describes two roles:

A Sender is the app that starts and controls the session, for example a music app on a phone or the Chrome browser.
A Receiver runs on the Cast-enabled device, for example a smart speaker. It responds to the Sender's commands and brings the stream from the online streaming service to the device.

Google adds that several Senders can join the same session, so one person can start the music and another can add to the queue.

To cast from a phone, Google's Nest help page lists these steps: connect the phone to the same Wi-Fi network as the speaker, or link it to the same account; open a Google Cast-enabled app; tap the Cast icon; then pick the speaker. Google notes that some music providers, like Spotify, require a subscription to play music from their Cast-enabled app.

See all soundbars with Chromecast.

Spotify Connect

Spotify Connect is Spotify's own system. According to Spotify, it lets you use one device to remotely control listening on another. To use it, open Spotify and play something, tap the Connect device icon, then pick the device you want to play on.

When connecting to a speaker for the first time, all devices need to be on the same Wi-Fi. Spotify also notes that not all devices support its lossless quality setting, and that you can check whether a device is compatible with Spotify Connect on Spotify's site or with the manufacturer.

The table lists Spotify as a streaming service when the manufacturer states Spotify Connect support. See all soundbars with Spotify.

One soundbar, several technologies

Many soundbars support more than one. Sonos says that when the TV is off, the Sonos Ray plays music, radio, podcasts and audiobooks over WiFi using the Sonos app, Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect and more. The table lists AirPlay and Spotify for it.

Other soundbars list all three. The LG S95QR and the Sony HT-A7000 list AirPlay, Chromecast and Spotify. See all soundbars with AirPlay, Chromecast and Spotify.

Which one to look for

The technology to look for depends on the devices and apps you already use:

AirPlay: streams from Apple devices, with multiroom audio and Siri through the Home app.
Chromecast (Google Cast): streams from Google Cast-enabled apps on a phone, a tablet or the Chrome browser. The soundbar plays the stream and the phone controls it.
Spotify Connect: control Spotify playback on the soundbar from the Spotify app.
Bluetooth: a direct pairing between the phone and the soundbar.

For connecting the soundbar to the TV, see Optical vs HDMI for soundbars.