How to Host Watch Parties and Share Music Using FaceTime’s SharePlay Feature

Apple hype a new FaceTime feature article promise SharePlay earlier this class , but then then famed excluded it from the prescribed launching ofiOS 15,iPadOS 15andmacOS Monterey . But SharePlay was unloosen as a feature in Io 15.1 and has now swan out in macOS Monterey 12.1 , so now everyone can take reward of the full SharePlay experience .

You might have notice apps such as Disney+ , Twitch , and others have added an option for you to learn content with booster over the cyberspace . You no longer call for to meet up with fuck I physically for a pic night , because everything can pass virtually instead .

With SharePlay , Apple is extend the estimate to medicine , games , societal media , screen shares , and just about everything else you may put on your twist ’s display . All the participants in the FaceTime call get the same synced playback and the same share controls for pausing , rewinding , etc .

Image: Apple

For SharePlay to body of work , apps need to be update to support it , and so for the first few month you might retrieve you’re able to use it with some apps and not others .

The first step from your iPhone or iPad is , as you would expect , to start a FaceTime call with one or more people . If you desire to divvy up your screen , you ’ll see a Modern icon on the right wing of the FaceTime control venire that looks like a public figure in front of a screen door . Tap on this , then partake My Screen , and everything on your screen gets transmit to the group . To lay off portion out , you exploit the same clitoris again .

If you want to share something from a specific app , all you have to do is navigate to that app and start playback . On some apps , include Apple Music and the Apple TV app , you ’ll see a dialog asking if you want to broadcast the content over SharePlay or keep it to yourself ; in other apps , you might need to pip a specific release ( in the case of TikTok , for exemplar , there ’s a SharePlay button you call for to tap ) .

Apple’s own apps are first in line for SharePlay support.

Apple’s own apps are first in line for SharePlay support.Screenshot: iOS

Your iPhone or iPad will retrieve this play - for - me - or - toy - for - everyone setting for each app for next time . For instance , if you choose to SharePlay contentedness in the Apple TV app the first clock time you use it , video will get automatically shared in the time to come when you ’re on a FaceTime call . To change this , guide to the twist options , and choose FaceTime and SharePlay .

On the other end , your player will see a Join SharePlay subject matter together with a clitoris to connect to whatever is happening . It ’s at this breaker point they ’ll be require to sign up if you ’re sharing something that needs a subscription and your contact do n’t have the necessary approach . tapdance the picture - in - picture roofing tile that hovers on top of your streaming app of choice to go back to the standard FaceTime user interface .

SharePlay functions the same on the Mac as it does on an iPhone or iPad , though you may not use it in quite the same elbow room . SharePlay can be used to gift your screen to other callers and collaborate on projects , or to show photo to house , or to play plot and well out them to ally over FaceTime .

How the SharePlay interface looks.

How the SharePlay interface looks.Image: Apple

It ’s also possible to swop to an Apple TV box if you ’re divvy up something in a video streaming app . you’re able to connect to the FaceTime call as normal , then weight-lift and hold the TV / Control Center button ( the TV icon ) on the Apple TV Remote , then select the SharePlay button , which should have appeared if a SharePlay event has been detected somewhere on your meshing .

Remember that everyone else has access to playback controller during SharePlay . When you ’re done with all your communion , you ’ll see an End SharePlay release underneath the FaceTime controls that you may utilize ( tap the regal FaceTime icon , top left , if you ca n’t see the controls ) . Your FaceTime call carries on as normal , but your screen door or whatever content you picked is no longer being deal .

This is still very much a work in progress as it stands now , and we expect it to come along in more apps and gain more feature as time drop dead on . What will be interesting to see is whether or not apps support SharePlay alongside their own group watching and listening feature — Apple has already annunciate partnerships with Disney Plus , Hulu , HBO Max , and Twitch for example , but there are also some notable absentees from that inclination .

Call participants get an invitation to join.