People are not able to physically socialize and carry out chores like they previously could due to increased workloads. This in combination with the time and energy of having to travel to and from friends and family is tiring. If you are looking to help people by bridging this divide, iOS app development could be the answer. 

An investor understands the importance of work but also knows that keeping up with family and acquaintances is essential. Through iPhone app development, you can develop software that enables socializing without being drawn back by work, distance, or time.  

What Is SharePlay?

SharePlay is a feature that facilitates the sharing of content and user experiences through FaceTime itself. This way, users communicating through the FaceTime app can have a deeper social experience with each other.  

This unique detail will play an important role in future iOS development. Not convinced yet that your app needs the SharePlay feature? Let us elaborate more on how such a feature can improve your app and assist users.  

Sharing Your Screen In Facetime With SharePlay

Imagine what you could accomplish while sharing your screen with a loved one. You could easily look through hotels while planning your family vacation or honeymoon. Or you could share your screen with your group to help find a birthday gift for your friend. 

The possibilities are endless!

The fact remains that sharing your screen during a call helps forge a better bond while still getting work done. All this is possible thanks to the help of technology and a really good mobile app development company. 

Perhaps you are unable to meet someone due to geographical restrictions. It is in instances like these when SharePlay is most efficient and effective. Use SharePlay to tackle the burden of not being able to complete a task because the consulting party is absent. 

Using SharePlay To Stream Shows and Movies In Facetime

SharePlay isn’t just for getting work done. It can be used to relax and have fun with friends as well! This feature is useful to watch movies and shows together with one friend or even a group of people. All this can be done through a FaceTime call. 

Including this feature in your iOS app enables you to share your time with friends and family regardless of location. And it’s not so hard to incorporate it into your app. With the help of the Group Activities API, this capability is possible. 

However, there are a few requirements to avail the full ability of this feature. All members will need to have a subscription from the same video streaming app development company.  Here’s how to use the SharePlay feature to stream shows and movies on a FaceTime call. 

• Start a FaceTime call with all the members you wish to share with
• Open the video streaming app
• Choose the video you want to play
• Select the play button
• All selected members will be able to watch the same stream as the user who initiated the call 

Music Sharing With SharePlay

Instead of video, you can alternate the movie/shows for music. This makes listening to music that much more fun because it is with friends.

It doesn’t take much to make this possible as your iOS app developer can incorporate it into your app. Thanks to an easy-to-use API, your application's users can easily benefit. 

Here’s how to use the SharePlay feature to stream music on a FaceTime call. 

• Start a FaceTime call with a friend or family member
• Open Apple Music
• Pick a song and press play
• The song should start playing simultaneously on both devices 

But, There’s One Catch!

There are some things that you need to inform your users about. 

All users on a call need to have a subscription for the video streaming app (Disney Plus, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video). A call cannot commence if only one of two users has a valid subscription. 

All participants must also have the required app (video streaming app) installed. Also, each user’s phone must have the latest version of iOS 15. This need for the latest version of the software is normal for almost every iPhone app development company.       

Plus, some apps don’t support the SharePlay feature, this includes Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube. With a few requirements and limitations, SharePlay’s still a great way for users to share time with loved ones.  

Conclusion

Sharing time with people is hard when there is a lot of distance between them. Luckily with the SharePlay feature in FaceTime, calls can feel like more than a conversation. Users can choose to share shows, music, movies, and even videos from social media apps.  

Are you impressed with the capabilities SharePlay provides to FaceTime calls? If so, you can hire our ios app development services to make your app compatible with SharePlay. 

As an experienced ios app development company, we are able to create customized iOS applications that suit your exact requirements. Feel free to reach out and contact us if you have a query.