Telegraph: Apple to Unveil New ‘AirPlay Direct’ Feature Alongside iPhone 5 (No Wi-Fi Required!)

Apple’s AirPlay technology has long been a great way to stream high quality audio between Apple devices and compatible speakers, and according to a new report, Apple is about to make AirPlay a whole lot better by eliminating the need for Wi-Fi!

Citing unnamed sources, The Telegraph reports that Apple is preparing to unveil a new AirPlay Direct feature at their media event on September 12, which will allow audio streaming without Wi-Fi, which AirPlay currently requires.

Sources familiar with the iPhone-maker’s plans said that Apple wants to improve the AirPlay wireless music streaming technology, which currently requires Airplay speakers and a WiFi network. The new version will require just speakers or a hifi and an iDevice; the iPhone, iPod or iPad would form its own network to allow a direct connection and music playback.

The report doesn’t provide many details about the feature, and it’s unclear exactly how it would work – although it seems likely that the feature will be powered by Wi-Fi Direct, considering that all recent Apple products support the feature.