Image Credit: MacRumors

With the release of iOS 17.4 and tvOS 17.4, Apple are expanding SharePlay, letting friends control Apple Music on the HomePod and Apple TV.

Apple first launched SharePlay with iOS 15 in 2021. During COVID lockdowns, this let friends virtually enjoy music and movies together over FaceTime. Over the past two years, Apple has continued expanding the feature, most recently in last year’s release of iOS 17, bringing the feature to CarPlay. This allowed multiple people in the same car to contribute to the same Apple Music playback queue. What’s great about this inclusion, is only the host needs an active Apple Music subscription.

Now, with the upcoming release of iOS 17.4 and tvOS 17.4, SharePlay is expanding further, brining the same Apple Music feature to HomePod and Apple TV. Multiple people can contribute to the queue, and again, only the primary user needs a subscription. Anyone else with an iPhone can join the party.

When casting music to a HomePod, tap the SharePlay icon at the bottom of the Music app. This shows a QR code. Friends can simply scan the code to start controlling the music. Similarly, on Apple TV, when playing music, you can pull up a QR code on the TV for friends to scan and control playback.

iOS 17.4 also brings new emoji, enables third-party app stores to comply with the EU, references to unreleased devices (thought to be a new iPad Pro and Pencil) and more.

Developers can download the beta at developer.apple.com, or you can wait for the public release in the next month or two.

Upload your own music to Apple Music! With RouteNote it’s free and easy to do. Follow these steps.