SharePlay, which allows for some pretty great screen sharing options, was first unveiled when Apple debuted iOS 15 earlier this year. However, Apple eventually decided to hold back the feature from the wide launch of the mobile operating system’s major update. So while SharePlay isn’t available right now, it is still coming.
And today, with the seed of iOS 15.1 Apple has confirmed it will be here soon. The first beta has re-enabled the screen sharing feature for developers to test out. The new feature is now available for testing purposes, and to develop apps for, with iPadOS 15.1 and tvOS 15.1 as well.
SharePlay will be built into FaceTime when the feature launches to the public. With it, users will be able to share their screen across a variety of different apps. SharePlay offers a lot of sharing capabilities for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and tvOS users — when the feature launches. It will allow users to share their screen while using FaceTime, create group playlists in Apple Music, watch synced movies and TV shows in the Apple TV app, and more.
Apple had SharePlay available to developers with the early days of iOS 15’s beta seeding phase. However, Apple eventually pulled that feature altogether before the public launch of the software. So, while Apple is prepared to start testing SharePlay again, it’s not a guarantee that iOS 15.1 will see the public arrival of the feature.
Still, this is a good sign for one of the best new features for iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1, and tvOS 15.1 (and macOS 12 Monterey, eventually).