Twelve South's AirFly finally does Auracast, and now it has a screen

For years we have had to add the same footnote whenever the AirFly comes up: it is a great plane adapter, and it is not Auracast. Twelve South has now fixed that. The new AirFly View costs US$79.99 and has an Auracast mode, plus a small screen that replaces the guesswork of blinking lights.

What it does

The AirFly View plugs into anything with a headphone jack. That means a plane seatback, a gym treadmill, or an old laptop. It comes with an international airline adapter and a travel case.

It has three ways to send sound:

• To one or two Bluetooth headphones. This is the classic AirFly trick, and it works with AirPods, Bose, Sony and Beats. No splitter needed for the second pair.
• As an Auracast broadcast. Pick Menu, then Mode, then Auracast. Twelve South says the mode "delivers ultra-clear audio to anyone who connects to the stream".
• In reverse. Receive mode takes audio from your phone and plays it into a car stereo or speaker's AUX socket.

The screen lists nearby devices, confirms connections and gives on-screen volume and mute. Twelve South says the instructions come in 24 languages. Battery life is up to 16 hours, charged over USB-C, and the connection is Bluetooth 5.3.

What Twelve South hasn't said

• How many people can listen. Auracast itself has no listener limit, but Twelve South does not give one.
• Whether you can set a password or name the broadcast. On a plane you probably don't want the whole row joining your film.
• The broadcast settings. We don't know the sample rate. That matters for hearing aids, some of which can't join 48 kHz broadcasts.

The AirFly Pro 2 still has no Auracast

The AirFly Pro 2 stays on sale at US$59.99, and it still uses Classic Bluetooth only. If you see it listed next to Auracast gear, it does not broadcast.

How it compares

The Avantree Voyager is US$20 cheaper and also pairs with one set of AirPods, so it suits a solo traveller, or a group where everyone has Auracast gear. The AirFly View makes more sense for a family: two pairs of AirPods on the kids, Auracast mode when more than two people want to listen, and the same box in the car afterwards. Twelve South doesn't say whether the two-headphone mode and Auracast can run at the same time, so assume you pick one.