Hands-on: CarPlay in iOS 17 adds SharePlay for Apple Music listening parties, even for long-distance friends

One of the big changes in iOS 17 for CarPlay users is the addition of SharePlay support for Apple Music. This feature allows anyone in the car to control and contribute to what’s playing via Apple Music, rather than just one person. SharePlay in CarPlay didn’t seem to work properly in iOS 17 beta 1, but I took it for another test drive with beta two this week. My takeaway? This is going to be a very, very fun feature.

Hands-on: CarPlay in iOS 17 adds SharePlay for Apple Music listening parties, even for long-distance friends
iOS
30-06-2023 14:44

The process of initiating a SharePlay session in CarPlay is a breeze. On the Apple Music Now Playing screen, there’s a new SharePlay icon in the upper-right corner. Tapping on this will bring up a QR code that other people can scan. Once they scan that QR code, you’ll receive a pop-up that tells you someone wants to join your SharePlay session.

Once you accept that request, the other person is able to control what’s playing via Apple Music. Interestingly, this works even if that other person doesn’t have an Apple Music subscription themselves.

I tested this with Zac, who was easily able to scan the QR code generated by CarPlay and join the SharePlay session in my car. He could add songs to the Apple Music queue, see what was currently playing, and play or pause content.

COMMENTS

Uploading...