Apple Delays SharePlay

Every year, Apple promises a bonanza of new features across its platforms at WWDC. And almost every year, at least some of them are delayed.

This year’s biggest victim? SharePlay, a widely touted coming technology that will work across Apple’s platforms and help its customers share app, screen, and entertainment experiences with others, but only those who are also locked into the one-way, dead-end street that is Apple’s broader ecosystem.

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Apple revealed the delay in its release notes for the developer beta 6 releases of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and tvOS 15, as first reported by 9to5Mac.

“SharePlay has been disabled for use in the developer beta 6 versions of iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and tvOS 15, and will be disabled in the upcoming beta 6 release of macOS Monterey,” the release notes state. “SharePlay will also be disabled for use in their initial releases [of those platforms] this fall. SharePlay will be enabled for use again in future developer beta releases and will launch to the public in software updates later this fall. Your team can continue developing SharePlay support for your apps by installing this development profile.”

Based on that last bit, it appears that SharePlay won’t be delayed as long as last year’s victim, the new privacy controls that were promised for iOS 14 in September 2020 but weren’t delivered until iOS 14.5 in April 2021.

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Conversation 14 comments

  • lvthunder

    Premium Member
    18 August, 2021 - 10:42 am

    <p>I’d rather them delay a feature then ship something that is buggy and doesn’t work correctly.</p>

    • wright_is

      Premium Member
      19 August, 2021 - 2:44 am

      <p>I assume you mean "than", not then. The latter is Microsoft’s preferred method, it seems.</p>

  • tallguyse

    Premium Member
    18 August, 2021 - 11:10 am

    <p>This is one of those features that has no appeal to me. I like playing video games online with family and friends, but watching an movie together virtually just has no appeal. I’d rather watch separately and then discuss together. </p>

    • safesax2002

      18 August, 2021 - 11:12 am

      <p>It can also be used for remote screen viewing that would be helpful for troubleshooting.</p>

      • tallguyse

        Premium Member
        18 August, 2021 - 10:22 pm

        <p>Thank you for reminding me, I forgot about that part of they keynote. That will be very useful in providing family tech support!</p>

      • ronh

        Premium Member
        19 August, 2021 - 12:06 pm

        <p>video is really important for doing support with friends and family, as is remote control.</p><p><br></p><p>will this do remote control like Quick Assist does on Windows</p>

      • macguy59

        19 August, 2021 - 9:47 pm

        <p>That can already be done via iMessage</p>

  • matthewitt

    Premium Member
    18 August, 2021 - 11:57 am

    <p>Does anyone see the initial WWDC announcement as a list of things that will be available day one anymore? I think it’s understood that it is a look of everything that will be released as part of iOS 14.x not just iOS 14.0.</p><p><br></p><p>They’ve been doing this for years now. For the last few years it’s basically been iOS as a service. Features come out when they’re ready, even things that weren’t initially announced at WWDC.</p>

    • matthewitt

      Premium Member
      18 August, 2021 - 11:58 am

      <p>And by 14, 14.0 and 14.x I mean 15, 15.0 and 15.x. </p>

    • nbplopes

      19 August, 2021 - 5:20 am

      <p>Yes. The idea that this article creates the this kinds of feature release delays appears recurrently and as often as in Windows is simply an attempt to berry ones head into the sand.</p>

  • tallguyse

    Premium Member
    18 August, 2021 - 10:27 pm

    <p>Yeah, that comment was a little unnecessary. I use both Windows and Apple. I appreciate the openness of Windows, but the integration of Apple products is just so convenient. I’m not forced to use AirPods, but they just work so well between devices. “The ecosystem” is especially convenient when I’m traveling, as I am at the moment. </p>

    • nbplopes

      19 August, 2021 - 4:27 am

      <p>SharePlay is an iOS thing, a mobile OS. As closed as Windows Phone was … now that was a dead end street.</p><p><br></p><p>I am a huge critique of App Store and Google Play. I definitely believe that their policies need to be regulated allowing for digital businesses of any kind to be merchants of their products regardless of OS or device. Companies creating merchant fences around billions of people, charging businesses to access their own customers should not be allowed … much less two merchants at 100% at planetary level </p>

  • angusmatheson

    19 August, 2021 - 10:52 am

    <p>As a guy who owns music in both Microsoft Groove music and Apple ’s iTunes. I know one of them feels like an dead end street eco-system.</p>

  • jaystyba

    Premium Member
    29 October, 2021 - 9:37 pm

    <p>How about getting AirDrop to actually work once in a while?</p>

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