Apple has announced plans to delay the SharePlay feature on iOS and macOS.
First announced at this year’s WWDC, SharePlay allows users to share their screen and watch content from apps like Disney+, Apple TV+, and YouTube with their friends via FaceTime.Now, the company has confirmed that the feature won’t launch with iOS 15, iPadOS 15, tvOS 15, and macOS Monterey and will instead come as a separate point release later in the year.
“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 company revealed in developer notes when issuing the latest iOS 15 beta.
“SharePlay will also be disabled for use in their initial releases 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.”
“We’re thrilled with the high level of enthusiasm we’ve seen from the developer community for SharePlay, and we can’t wait to bring it to users so that they can experience your apps with their friends and family in a whole new way,” the firm added.
“We appreciate how many teams have been hard at work building SharePlay experiences and to ensure there is no interruption in your development, we have provided a SharePlay Development Profile which will enable successful creation and reception of GroupSessions via the Group Activities API. If your team plans to submit an update to your app for the initial release of these platforms, please remove the GroupActivities entitlement. We will provide guidance when SharePlay is re-enabled in a future developer beta, at which point we encourage you to include the GroupActivities entitlement in your code.”
Apple made a big song and dance about its SharePlay feature when it announced iOS 15 in June, and it’s disappointing to hear that the new option has been delayed without even a hint as to a future release date, but we’re sure it’ll arrive when it’s ready.
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