During their 2021 WWDC Keynote, Apple announced “SharePlay”, which will allow you to share music and videos with your friends during a FaceTime call.
The feature which will be part of iOS 15, will keep a video stream in-sync so you watch with your friends. In addition of being able to watch on your phone, you can AirPlay while still streaming your FaceTime camera on your phone. Those on FaceTime can “Play”, “Pause”, “Fast-Forward”, “Rewind”, and change what you’re watching.
While at the outset it will work with Apple Music and Apple TV+, the company has created a SharePlay API which will allow third-party video and audio apps to implement the feature.
During WWDC, Apple revealed that top streaming apps including Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, ESPN+, Paramount+, Pluto TV, NBA App, Twitch, and TikTok will offer the feature.
During their California Streaming event today, they announced a few new additions that will implement the features. On the video side, STARZ, BET+, TV Everywhere Apps from ViacomCBS (MTV, Paramount Network, & Comedy Comedy Central) and Chinese streaming service Youku. On the audio side, Spotify, TuneIn, and SoundCloud will join Apple Music with the offering.
WWDC Announcement
California Streaming Announcement
While the feature was supposed to roll-out with the launch of iOS 15 this month, it has been delayed and likely will launch later this year.
Co-viewing experiences have been a major trend during the pandemic, with services like Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, while third-party services like Netflix Party and Scener have filled the void for Netflix and HBO respectively. Disney also launched a co-viewing feature for Disney+. For live content, Sling TV and Yahoo Sports! added the ability to live stream sports with your friends.