How to Play Mixed Audio Sources to AirPods on macOS
It might sound odd, but there are times you simply wish to stream audios only — not the whole video stream — to an AirPod connected to another Mac. It happens most often for me when I’m watching YouTubes or Podcasts on the side while I have my AirPods connected to the workstation. I prefer to listen to the audio only until I want to take a peek. Previously I had to buy a software to get the polished experience that is equivalent to something as this, now macOS supports it; possibly starting from macOS 15.
Instructions
- On the host device (where the speaker is), from the System Settings > General > AirDrop & Handoff, toggle AirPlay Receiver on.
- From the client device (where the media is being played), select the host Mac as the speaker output.
- On macOS, the options are accessible in the menubar, or System Settings > Sound.
- On iOS, the option is in Control Center > Now Playing, touch AirPlay icon.
- Start playing the media on the client device. If the selected speaker on the host device is set to AirPods, it will play all audios, from both client and host, mixed to the AirPods.
Afterthoughts
As far as I understand it, due to the technical nature behind Bluetooth specs, the mixing isn’t as simple as connecting to two different sources at the same time. Most wireless earbuds I could find simply didn’t support the feature, and the wireless headphones took one type wireless (e.g. Bluetooth) and one another (e.g. proprietary dongle, 3.5mm jack, etc.). Some of the online discussions I could find on the subject recommended using a good audio mixer instead; while it would work, I wanted to keep it simple.
I hope Apple will rework how AirPods are being integrated into the platform. I believe it would be better if the same can be done on, say, iPhones. There is no reason to exclude iOS devices when it should be capable of receiving AirPlay connections and transmit the mixed audio via Bluetooth. I suppose the Californian company fallbacks to an old hierarchy between the devices back when iPhones needed iTunes.