What is SharePlay for FaceTime? Plus how to use it for a movie watch party

(Pocket-lint) - While astatine WWDC 2021, Apple announced a massive update to FaceTime successful an effort to marque it amended vie with Zoom and different video calling services that person exploded successful the past year. As portion of that update, it introduced a caller feature, called SharePlay, which fundamentally turns FaceTime into a ticker enactment service. Here's what you request to know.

What is Apple SharePlay?

When you're connected a FaceTime call, SharePlay lets you bring euphony into your telephone for a shared listening experience, ticker movies and TV shows with your friends successful sync portion having real-time conversations, and stock your screen. At launch, it volition enactment with galore third-party apps, including TikTok, truthful you tin bring each sorts of contented into your FaceTime calls.

When volition SharePlay beryllium available?

SharePlay volition beryllium added to caller FaceTime app, which officially rolls retired with the iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and macOS Monterey bundle updates aboriginal this year. However, Apple has announced SharePlay volition beryllium delayed and won't beryllium disposable successful the caller FaceTime app oregon iOS 15 astatine launch.

The institution specifically told developers that SharePlay volition beryllium disabled successful the adjacent betas of iOS 15, iPadOS15, tvOS 15, and macOS Monterey and frankincense volition beryllium absent successful the authoritative merchandise of iOS 15 erstwhile it wide rolls retired successful the autumn. SharePlay is expected to beryllium “in aboriginal developer beta releases and volition motorboat to the nationalist successful bundle updates aboriginal this fall". We'll support you posted.

What tin you bash with SharePlay?

There are 3 main things you tin bash with SharePlay: Listen together, Watch together, and Share your screen.

Listen together

Let's accidental you're successful a FaceTime video telephone with a person talking astir a opus oregon medium you love. With SharePlay, you tin instantly and easy commencement playing the euphony you're discussing. All you request to bash is unfastened the Apple Music app, find the opus oregon album, property play, and take to perceive together. The euphony volition commencement successful sync for everyone connected the call.

The champion portion is everyone connected the telephone tin adhd songs to a queue and past stock playback controls similar intermission oregon skip.

Watch together

When you're connected a FaceTime call, you tin usage SharePlay to commencement a ticker party, oregon what Apple calls a "Shared Content" experience. Just unfastened the TV app oregon a streaming app and property play. You and your friends tin past ticker successful sync.

Since SharePlay works system-wide connected Apple devices, you tin permission the streaming app, past unfastened different app to, say, bid instrumentality out, and a picture-and-picture presumption volition fto you proceed seeing your friends and the video you're enjoying. Apple said controls are "always accessible with conscionable a tap". You tin adjacent leap into Messages to chat portion watching.

If you similar to ticker connected a bigger screen, you tin widen the video to your Apple TV and ticker it determination portion sharing the infinitesimal with your friends implicit FaceTime connected your iPhone. Despite utilizing aggregate devices, everyone volition beryllium successful sync.

Share your screen

When demoing, SharePlay, Apple utilized the illustration of idiosyncratic browsing Zillow listings and wanting to bash truthful unrecorded with their aboriginal roommates. Screen sharing is simply a elemental and effectual mode to bash truthful - and it works crossed Apple devices.

Which apps and services enactment SharePlay?

Besides Apple Music and the Apple TV app, SharePlay works with different fashionable apps and streaming services, due to the fact that Apple created a SharePlay API for developers. Apple has already said it is moving with definite partners, including Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, the NBA app, Twitch, TikTok, MasterClass, Zillow, Paramount+, ESPN+, and others.

How to commencement a FaceTime ticker party

Since SharePlay is not officially disposable for consumers, nor are the iOS 15, iPadOS 15, oregon macOS Monterey updates, the process for utilizing the diagnostic to commencement a FaceTime ticker enactment is taxable to change.

Currently, here's however the process works successful the iOS 15 betas.

Create and stock a FaceTime link

1. Launch the caller FaceTime app connected your iPhone oregon iPad.
2. You volition spot 2 options:
   1. Create a Link
   2. New FaceTime.
3. Tap Create a Link.
4. Once the nexus appears, pat the “i” button.
   1. It's adjacent to the “FaceTime Link” nether the upcoming section.
5. Choose the “Share Link” enactment successful the menu.
   
   1. Pick a method to stock the FaceTime telephone link.
   2. You tin stock via substance message, WhatsApp, email, Messenger, etc.
   3. You tin besides conscionable transcript the nexus and determination to an app and stock it that way.

You tin larn much astir however to articulation a FaceTime telephone via a nexus done Pocket-lint's elaborate guide. The Apple idiosyncratic who created the FaceTime nexus volition request to pat a “check” fastener connected their instrumentality to fto others articulation the call. 

Open a streaming app

Once you and your friends articulation the ticker party, motorboat a supported video streaming app specified arsenic the TV app, Disney+, Hulu, oregon Paramount+, take a movie oregon amusement to ticker together, and that's it! Everyone volition past ticker successful sync.

Want to cognize more?

The caller FaceTime app includes a ton of different updates and improvements to ‌FaceTime‌, including Spatial audio support, a Voice Isolation mode for blocking inheritance noise, a grid presumption for seeing each participants, and FaceTime links, which - for the archetypal clip - tin fto Android and PC users articulation your FaceTime calls.

Learn each astir the caller FaceTime here.

Writing by Maggie Tillman. Originally published connected 9 June 2021.