Apple has teamed with BridgeCo, a software company that sells chips for wireless music streaming, to offer AirPlay functionality on third-party systems. CNBC reports that Apple has worked with BridgeCo in the past on iPod docking products, and approached the company a year ago to offering to make it a launch partner on AirPlay.
“Apple has never opened up their eco-system,” says BridgeCo CEO Gene Sheridan. “We’ve always been knocking on the door to work with them on this.” Sheridan continued, “they’re not gonna create the world’s stereo equipment,” instead opting to leverage BridgeCo’s existing portfolio of customers including Denon, iHome Audio, Marantz, JBL, and Bowers & Wilkins.
“There is a magic to Apple that sounds simple. They know how to take a complex and feature-rich technology and narrow it,” Sheridan said, noting that out of a long list of potential features BridgeCo could offer the company, Apple picked only three.