iOS 18 and tvOS 18 Reintroduce SharePlay for Apple Music on HomePods and Apple TV - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

iOS 18 and tvOS 18 Reintroduce SharePlay for Apple Music on HomePods and Apple TV

by

iOS 18 and tvOS 18 reintroduce SharePlay for Apple Music on the HomePod, HomePod mini, and Apple TV. The feature first appeared in the iOS 17.4 and tvOS 17.4 betas earlier this year, but it was removed before those updates were released.

SharePlay Music Control Expanding Feature 2
This feature allows others to control Apple Music playback on your HomePod or Apple TV with permission, regardless of whether they subscribe to the service. The primary user can decide whether to approve or deny each request.

Apple already rolled out a similar feature for CarPlay last year, allowing anyone in a car to control music playback via SharePlay with permission.

HomePod

While playing a song in the Music app on your iPhone, tap the SharePlay icon at the bottom of the screen to bring up a QR code, which another person can scan with their iPhone or Android smartphone's camera to request access to music playback controls. Even a screenshot of the QR code suffices for remote access.

The feature works on both the HomePod and HomePod mini, and we could imagine the QR code eventually being shown on the long-rumored HomePod with a screen.

Apple TV

With the tvOS 18 update, the Music app on the Apple TV can also show a QR code on the TV that guests can scan to request access to music controls.

The expansion of this feature to the Apple TV and the HomePod is useful for house parties, allowing everyone to be the DJ.

iOS 18, tvOS 18, and HomePod software version 18 are currently in beta, and the updates will be widely released later this year.

Related Roundups: Apple TV, HomePod, HomePod mini
Tags: Apple Music Guide, SharePlay
Buyer's Guide: Apple TV (Don't Buy), HomePod (Caution), HomePod Mini (Don't Buy)
Related Forums: Apple TV and Home Theater, HomePod, HomeKit, CarPlay, Home & Auto Technology

Popular Stories

Apple iCloud Plus expansion hero

iCloud+ Now Includes Apple TV, Apple Arcade, and Curated Apple Music Stations in Over 100 Countries

Tuesday September 15, 2026 1:43 am PDT by
Apple today announced a new subscription initiative that turns paid iCloud+ subscriptions into a broader services bundle in more than 100 countries. In select countries, Apple says every paid iCloud+ plan, including the cheapest 50GB tier, now includes Apple TV and Apple Arcade "at no additional cost," while family sharing extends the storage, TV and Arcade access to up to five people....
Read Full Article • 106 comments
Where is the New Apple TV Feature

Next Apple TV's Chip Revealed in Latest Leak

Tuesday September 8, 2026 10:19 am PDT by
The next Apple TV 4K will be equipped with an A19 or A19 Pro chip, according to evidence in Apple's code uncovered by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. In particular, the device's model identifier points towards the A19 generation of chips. Accordingly, the next Apple TV would have 8GB or 12GB of RAM, up from 4GB in the current 2022 model with the A15 Bionic chip. Other rumored upgrades for...
Read Full Article • 135 comments
iOS 27 Feature Cool

Apple Releases New iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, and tvOS 27 Public Betas

Monday August 31, 2026 2:13 pm PDT by
Apple today released the sixth public betas of iOS 27, iPadOS 27, tvOS 27, and macOS Golden Gate, allowing anyone with a compatible device to download and test the new software. The sixth betas come a week after Apple seeded the fifth betas and a few hours after the eighth developer betas. You can get started by signing up on Apple's beta website and then opting in to the public beta by...
Read Full Article • 25 comments

Top Rated Comments

vertsix Avatar
vertsix
30 months ago
What about AirPort Express?!

I still use it and it's great!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
H
hagar
30 months ago

Has this worked for anyone using CarPlay? We tried it a few months ago with no success.
It’s very unstable. Requires a permanent mobile connection as far as I know. We used it during a road trip but as soon as we had no connection, the guests were dropped and we needed to pair again manually. No idea why it’s not more robust.

But that’s Apple: they expect pristine internet connections. Everywhere. All the time.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Surf Monkey Avatar
Surf Monkey
30 months ago
Maybe in the process they’ll get around to making Apple Music have continuity between devices? The fact that it isn’t able to maintain a unified list of play counts, additions and deletions amongst other things is a major functional hole and one that Apple Music/iTunes has suffered from for over a decade. It’s great to get SharePlay back but it’s somewhat meaningless if Apple Music continues to have no continuity.

And to an earlier post: Apple made a mistake by dropping the AirPort line. They’d be smart to reintroduce it. AirPort + AirPlay were the glue holding the home networking system together. Relying on third parties for this is very un-Apple. And on that point, with their renewed focus on “HomeOS” now would be a great time to introduce a next generation AirPort system.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S
svish
30 months ago
Good to see that the feature is now back.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
L
Lounge vibes 05
30 months ago

I have the developer beta installed on an iPhone 12 Pro, but I'm not seeing the SharePlay interface in the Music app or the Home hub prioritization in the Home app. Are these features not supported on older devices?
You also have to have both your HomePods and Apple TVs on version 18.0 for any of this to work properly.
And my understanding is you can’t install the beta firmware on a first generation HomePod.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Surf Monkey Avatar
Surf Monkey
30 months ago

It’s very unstable. Requires a permanent mobile connection as far as I know. We used it during a road trip but as soon as we had no connection, the guests were dropped and we needed to pair again manually. No idea why it’s not more robust.

But that’s Apple: they expect pristine internet connections. Everywhere. All the time.
Inside the spaceship data scarcity is an unknown condition.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments