I can’t help but ponder how technology enabled us to survive this pandemic world. Imagine if we didn’t have the smartphones, laptops, tablets or fast internet connectivity that we have today. There would have been no online meetings, no schooling, no banking, no entertainment, no nothing. In simple words, life would have literally come to an actual standstill. In the past two years (the post-pandemic world), we as humans have managed to survive and carry on with our daily tasks thanks to technology.
Being in the Apple Ecosystem forever, I’m grateful to the late Steve Jobs and everyone at Apple for always being the enablers and trailblazers. And one such feature that I have been eagerly waiting for was SharePlay on Apple devices.
And with today’s update to macOS Monterey, users can now take full advantage of the power and fun of SharePlay right on their Mac. That means users can bring TV shows, movies, music, and more into their FaceTime calls on Mac, or even share their screen. SharePlay works great with services like Apple TV+ and Apple Music, and more developers are adding support for the feature. Alongside SharePlay, today’s update includes the Apple Music Voice Plan, new safety features for children and parents in Messages, redesigned Memories in Photos, and more.
SharePlay on Mac is incredibly easy to set up and use. Here’s how to quickly get up and running:
How to use SharePlay to share your screen in FaceTime:
— While on a FaceTime call on your Mac, open an app you want to share in the call.
— In the menu bar, click the FaceTime button, then click the Screen Share button.
— At this point you can choose to share an app window by selecting “Choose Window” and clicking on the window you want to share. Or you can share the whole screen by selecting “Choose Screen.”
— To stop sharing, click the FaceTime button in the menu bar and click the Stop Sharing button.
How to use SharePlay to watch together in FaceTime:
— While on a FaceTime call on your Mac, start watching a movie or show in the Apple TV app.
— Everyone can use playback controls on their respective Apple devices to play, pause, rewind, or fast-forward in real-time. And the show or movie volume adjusts automatically so you can keep talking while you watch.
— With Split View, it’s easy to arrange windows so that you see the FaceTime video call on one side of your screen and the movie or show on the other side.
How to use SharePlay to listen to music together in FaceTime:
— While on a FaceTime call on your Mac, move the pointer over any song or album in the Music app, then click the Play button to start the music.
— Everyone on the call can control the playback (pause the music, go to the next song, and more), manage the shared Playing Next queue, and view lyrics.
While SharePlay is supported across Apple’s platforms and works amazingly well across products, we wanted to share some great examples of how using screen sharing with SharePlay on Mac can be particularly helpful. We think users will love to try these out!
— Collaborating on documents: Everyone can edit and share their thoughts on a slideshow deck, Pages documents, or even get input on an email draft.
— Photo slideshows: It’s easy to show the latest photos and videos from right in the Photos app. Or have others offer feedback while editing photos and videos.
— Browse the web together: Sharing a Safari page is great for planning a trip or event, shopping for a gift, or even a major purchase like a car.
— Explore Maps: Maps on Mac offers a great way to explore the world, map out a road trip, or decide on your next place to visit.
— Gaming: Users love to game on Mac. Now they can show off gameplay to their friends in real-time.
And the best part is that users don’t all need to be on a Mac. Users can share their Mac screen with friends who are on their iPhone or iPad. Or they can share their iPhone or iPad screen with their friends who are on a Mac.
And as SharePlay also supports 3rd Party apps, a lot of SharePlay developers are coming on board to integrate SharePlay feature in existing apps or making new ones specifically for SharePlay.
Developers are quickly adding support for SharePlay and providing all-new ways for their users to connect and have shared experiences through FaceTime. Some great third-party apps to try out include:
— Zillow
— Night Sky
— Translate Now
— Navi
— Ultrahuman
— Apollo for Reddit
And more developers are coming on board soon, including HBO Max.
So do let us know your favourite feature of macOS Monterey 12.1 in the comments section below or tweet to us in the comments section below.
