AirPlay 2 speakers are currently supported by iPhone and iPad. A new Macotakara report says that for the next iPhone, Apple is adding dual Bluetooth audio support. Dual bluetooth output might allow two people to listen to music from the same phone, connecting two sets of AirPods at the same time.
The iPhone software currently only supports connecting to one device in one audio profile at a time. Multiple headphones can be paired, but the sound can only ever come from one set. The iPhone already supports multiple connections of various types, such as connecting to headphones and the Apple Watch at the same time.
Some Android devices already support dual Bluetooth Audio.
An iPhone could connect to a car and wireless earphones, send voice navigation to speakers while sending music to their headphones as well.
Macotakara
As observed from existing executions on Samsung telephones, double Bluetooth sound modes might be influenced by synchronization issues, so the yield to a multi-room setup will likely not be valuable.
The addition of bilateral wireless charging to the iPhone 11 is also expected from Apple. This would allow users to charge their AirPods quickly by simply placing the case on the back of their phone and sharing the power from the battery of the iPhone. It is expected that the new iPhone lineup will be announced in the fall, probably at a media event in September. Dual Bluetooth Audio is often called a Bluetooth 5 feature. In theory, with a software update, Apple appears to be able to add this feature to iPhone 8, iPhone X, iPhone XR and iPhone XS.