Apple (AAPL) recently released the latest version of iOS, the operating system that powers millions of iPhones. And with it comes a feature called SharePlay, which Apple has been previewing since its big developers conference back in June.
SharePlay is a new extension for FaceTime that lets you remotely watch movies and TV shows, listen to music, play games, and work out while video chatting with your friends and family.
It’s a slick option that makes it a lot easier to watch and listen with the people you love, without having to jump through hoops or installing a bunch of different browser extensions. Here’s how to use SharePlay and get the most out of it.
How to connect, watch, and listen with friends and family
The first thing you’ll need to do to set up SharePlay is to ensure you and anyone else you want to chat with have downloaded and installed iOS 15.1. Without that, you’re out of luck.
Once you’ve done that, you simply need to call the person you want to chat with via FaceTime. After you’re connected, you can open the app that you want to share and tap the SharePlay button at the top of the screen.
The person you’re chatting with will then get a notification on their end asking if they want to join the SharePlay call. Once they tap yes, you’ll be connected. Yep, it’s that easy.
The one major caveat here is that you both need to subscribe to the service you’re trying to share. So if you’re looking to watch an NBA game together on Paramount+, you’ll both need your own subscriptions for those apps. If you don’t, SharePlay will launch and the app you’re trying to view will ask you to sign up.
Right now, Apple says the feature works with Apple TV+, Apple Music, Apple Fitness+, Paramount+, the NBA app, TikTok, the game Heads Up!, the real estate app Redfin, Hulu, and more. The company says that Spotify and a number of other app developers are also working to add SharePlay support in the near future.
There’s no word on whether Netflix will get on board.
The basics
There are a few things to know once you start streaming. The first is that the person who sent you the invite to stream together isn’t just sharing their screen. The video or music or gaming app you’re using together is playing natively on each person’s phone. That’s why the resolution is the same as you’d see when running the app on your phone by yourself.
Anyone in the stream can also use the video and music controls, which lets you control playback for the entire stream. So if you are watching, say, “Ted Lasso,” with a bunch of people and need to run and grab a drink, you can pause the movie and it’ll pause for everyone. You can also scrub forward or backward.
If you and your friends start talking while watching, SharePlay will automatically lower the volume of the show, music, or movie, and raise the volume of your voices. Once you’re finished speaking, the content’s audio goes back to normal.
Don’t want to interrupt the flow by talking out loud? There’s a chat button in the bottom left corner of the screen where you can type messages without cutting into your show.
It’s a pretty straightforward setup and worthwhile if you’re into appointment viewing with friends, or just want to check out a movie with family members across the country.
Troubleshooting with SharePlay
So that’s the fun part of SharePlay. But there’s also a more functional feature that lets you share your screen with your friends or family. The idea here is to let you do things like show off your photo albums or personal videos without having to share them via text or email.
But the feature lets you use SharePlay to troubleshoot things on another user’s phone by using yours as an example. My dad, for instance, isn’t the most technically capable person. I’ve had to unlock his iCloud account on more than one occasion, and help him reconnect to his wifi multiple times, mostly to spare my mom the frustration.
With screen sharing via SharePlay, though, I can show my dad exactly what he needs to do to get online or unlock his account using my own screen as an example. What’s more, my FaceTime video will appear in the top corner of the screen while I’m sharing, so he can see me while I explain the settings or features he needs to change.
Taken together, SharePlay adds up to a new option that’s not only designed for fun with friends and family, but offers a level of utility that’s incredibly helpful. Though, if you’re the family IT person, like me, it might mean you get even more calls for tech help.
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