Apple AirPlay is a proprietary protocol that allows supported devices to wirelessly stream audio, video, and photos complete with related metadata between devices. With various manufacturers releasing AirPlay-only Wi-Fi speakers, the technology enjoyed it's dominance since it's inception in 2004 as AirTunes (named AirPlay later) in the Wi-Fi music streaming market while non-Apple device users have been left out in the cold.

A new open-source technology MagicPlay aims to change that by providing the first standardized music streaming protocol over WiFi. The BSD-licensed open source reference implementation allows any app developer or hardware manufacturer to integrate this their products. Miracast and Wi-Fi Direct (Intel WiDi) are two other contenders in this niche but are limited to specific devices supporting Wi-Fi Direct.