AudioRelay is a Mac and Android application that turns any nearby phone or tablet into a wireless speaker or microphone for your computer, routing audio across your local network in real time.
What is AudioRelay?
AudioRelay is a low-latency network audio bridge that lets your Mac send its system output — or receive microphone input — from an Android device over Wi-Fi or USB, without the complexity of Bluetooth pairing, external DACs, or AirPlay configuration. Think of it as a software cable that connects whatever speakers or mic happen to be on your phone to whatever is playing on your Mac.
I stumbled across AudioRelay when I needed a second speaker in the kitchen while working at my desk. Instead of buying a Bluetooth speaker, I pointed my Galaxy Tab at the ceiling and had stereo-ish audio in under two minutes. That instinct — repurpose the hardware you already own — is exactly what this app rewards.
What does AudioRelay do best?
AudioRelay's headline strength is its latency. Most Bluetooth audio stacks add 100–250 ms of delay — noticeable enough to feel wrong during video calls or fast-paced media. AudioRelay, running over a local Wi-Fi network, consistently lands well under 50 ms in my experience, which makes it actually usable for video playback rather than just background music.
- System audio capture — pipes the Mac's entire output (music, system sounds, browser audio) to the phone without any virtual sound device gymnastics on newer macOS versions.
- Phone-as-microphone — flip the direction and your phone's mic feeds into the Mac as a standard audio input, useful if your built-in mic picks up fan noise or you want to record something closer to the source.
- USB transport — drop to a USB connection when Wi-Fi is congested and the latency improves further; this is the mode I use for video editing review.
- Multiple receivers — send to several Android devices simultaneously, which is a surprisingly handy way to fill a room.
There is no comparable built-in macOS solution. AirPlay 2 requires Apple hardware on the receiving end. Bluetooth speakers are convenient but lag-prone. AudioRelay fills a gap that Apple has left open on purpose.
Is AudioRelay free?
The core functionality is free to download and use on both the Mac and Android sides. A Pro upgrade unlocks higher audio quality codecs, removes an interstitial, and enables some advanced routing options, but the free tier is not hobbled in any meaningful way for everyday use. I ran the free version for a month before upgrading and genuinely could not identify a compelling reason to do so until I wanted 48 kHz lossless output.
Who should use AudioRelay?
AudioRelay earns a place on any Mac where the built-in speakers fall short and a wired or Bluetooth speaker feels like overkill. Remote workers who want to repurpose a spare Android phone as a desk mic will also find it immediately practical — the audio quality from a modern smartphone mic is substantially better than most MacBook arrays, especially in a reverberant room.
Podcasters and streamers looking for a quick remote monitor feed, developers who need to A/B audio output across devices, and anyone who travels with a phone but no external speaker are the obvious audience. If your workflow is entirely within the Apple ecosystem — Mac to HomePod, iPhone to AirPods — you will find less reason to install it. AudioRelay is pointedly an Android-first companion.
What are the best AudioRelay alternatives?
For Apple-to-Apple audio routing, AirPlay 2 with a HomePod or Apple TV is the native answer and requires no third-party software. Rogue Amoeba's Airfoil is the power-user pick for sending Mac audio to AirPlay, Chromecast, or Bluetooth receivers simultaneously, with per-app routing that AudioRelay does not attempt. Soundsource (also Rogue Amoeba) handles local output switching but does not transmit audio across devices. For raw network audio without a mobile app, BlackHole plus a Shairport-Sync receiver covers similar ground on a Linux or Raspberry Pi target. None of these serve an Android phone as a receiver or mic — that is AudioRelay's uncontested territory.
How does AudioRelay compare to Airfoil?
Airfoil is the richer, more mature tool: per-app audio routing, a polished Mac-native UI, and support for every AirPlay and Chromecast receiver on the market. AudioRelay is narrower in scope but solves a problem Airfoil cannot — using an Android device as both speaker and microphone. If you own Apple TV or HomePods, start with Airfoil. If your speakers are Android, AudioRelay is the only practical option.
