iOS 17 AirPlay Features

With the iOS 17 update, Apple is updating and refining almost every iPhone app and feature, and that includes AirPlay. ‌AirPlay‌ is Apple's wireless communication protocol that allows music and video content from iPhones, iPads, and Macs to be beamed to devices like the Apple TV, HomePod, and third-party speakers, smart TVs, set-top boxes, and receivers.

iOS 17 AirPlay Feature
This guide highlights the changes that Apple is making to ‌AirPlay‌ in ‌iOS 17‌, with these features also available in iPadOS 17 and macOS Sonoma.

AirPlay Preferences

‌iOS 17‌ improves on-device intelligence for ‌AirPlay‌, and it is able to better learn your preferences over time. If you typically ‌AirPlay‌ from your ‌iPhone‌ to the ‌Apple TV‌ in the living room, it will learn that behavior and show the ‌Apple TV‌ first in your ‌AirPlay‌ list over other ‌AirPlay‌ devices that may be in the home.

ios 17 airplay
Devices are shown in the ‌AirPlay‌ interface based on relevance, and you'll also now see suggested connections proactively based on your prior ‌AirPlay‌ usage.

The ‌AirPlay‌ interface is smarter from the outset, and it shows the devices that are located closest to you first rather than offering up a more arbitrary list. The ‌AirPlay‌ interface also makes it clearer which device content is AirPlaying to and whether ‌AirPlay‌ is active.

Automatic AirPlay

The Automatic ‌AirPlay‌ feature that was available for TVs in iOS 16 has expanded to include speakers as well in ‌iOS 17‌. You can opt in to have the ‌iPhone‌ automatically connect to nearby speakers and TVs when playing content from apps that you regularly use with ‌AirPlay‌.

ios 17 airplay automatic
Previously, this setting was limited to ‌AirPlay‌ TVs.

AirPlay in Hotel Rooms

Apple is teaming up with hotel chains and TV manufacturers to introduce smart TV sets that will let hotel guests automatically ‌AirPlay‌ content from their Apple devices to the hotel TV.

airplay hotels
The option will let guests watch their own TV shows and movies without having to sign into streaming accounts on shared televisions, providing more security for viewing content when traveling.

IHG Hotels and Resorts will be the first hotel company to bring ‌AirPlay‌ to its hotels, and LG plans to introduce AirPlay-compatible smart TVs designed specifically for use in hotels.

Read More

You can get more information on the changes coming in ‌iOS 17‌ in our comprehensive iOS 17 roundup.

Related Roundups: iOS 17, iPadOS 17
Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

Top Rated Comments

Apple Fan 2008 Avatar
8 weeks ago
Can't wait for AirPlay in hotels!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ShivneelSingh Avatar
8 weeks ago
Just allow me to not include my HomePods as my speakerphone options on my iPhone.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
krell100 Avatar
8 weeks ago
Is Airplay still limited to 24/48? I'd like to see an updated Airplay that allows streaming the full bandwidth of high resolution files in Apple Music (24/192). Also, Apple, please fix the auto sample/bit rate changing in macOS, why does it work in iOS but not macOS??!!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
PsykX Avatar
8 weeks ago
I hope it's more reliable, because I've been having a lot of screen flickers and then AirPlay quits right after... on multiple Apple TVs and iPhones in the last 5-6 years.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HVDynamo Avatar
8 weeks ago

Is Airplay still limited to 24/48? I'd like to see an updated Airplay that allows streaming the full bandwidth of high resolution files in Apple Music (24/192). Also, Apple, please fix the auto sample/bit rate changing in macOS, why does it work in iOS but not macOS??!!
There is literally no benefit to 24/192 outside of the mixing environment. 16/44.1 is enough to flawlessly reproduce any frequency in our hearing range.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
arobert3434 Avatar
8 weeks ago
How about instead of all this fancy-schmancy guessing simply preserving your last airplay choice for more than 30 seconds or so if you pause the music? This has driven me crazy for years. A Mac will remember your selection until you change it, why can't iDevices do this?

Also in the missing-basics department, Music won't remember your play history across devices. Why do they make this fancy iCloud thing just to let each device be its own silo? It reminds me of the sad state of Books. Remembering the page across devices seems like the simplest possible cloud application. The Kindle app does it flawlessly. But it was always unreliable in Books, and then in iOS 16 rather than spending software development hours on stabilizing that, they invest in a hack-job UI rewrite AND apparently introduce a hard barrier so Books 16 devices and Books <=15 devices cannot sync the page together at all!

The emphasis on simple basic usability seems to have completely left Apple. If it weren't for so much legacy and existing convention in the software at this point they'd be worse than Windows.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Details: Action Button, USB-C Port, Face ID, and More

Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:34 pm PDT by
Significant changes are expected to arrive with Apple's fourth-generation iPhone SE, in terms of both design and hardware, MacRumors has learned. The iPhone SE 4, known internally under the codename Ghost, is expected to receive a new design derived almost entirely from the base model iPhone 14. According to our sources, the iPhone SE 4 will use a modified version of the iPhone 14 chassis...
Multi Display CarPlay 1

All-New Apple CarPlay Launching Later This Year With These 5 New Features

Friday September 29, 2023 11:29 am PDT by
At WWDC 2022 last year, Apple previewed the next generation of CarPlay, promising deeper integration with vehicle functions like A/C and FM radio, support for multiple displays across the dashboard, personalization options, and more. Apple said the first vehicles with support for the next-generation CarPlay experience would be announced in late 2023, but it has still not shared any additional...
iOS 17

Everything New in iOS 17.1 Beta 1

Wednesday September 27, 2023 1:57 pm PDT by
Just a week after releasing iOS 17, Apple has seeded the first beta of iOS 17.1 to developers. iOS 17.1 adds some features that Apple promised were coming to iOS 17 in the future, plus it refines and improves some existing features. This guide covers everything new in the first iOS 17.1 beta. Apple Music Favorites You can favorite songs, albums, playlists, and artists in the iOS 17.1...
iPhone 15 Pro lineup

iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Concerns Highlighted in Two More Reports

Thursday September 28, 2023 6:25 am PDT by
iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max overheating concerns continue to make headlines this week, with the topic highlighted by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. Both of the reports document anecdotal complaints from customers, and outline potential causes, but it's unclear how many devices are actually affected. Bloomberg said the overheating could be caused or compounded by the iPhone's setup...
iPhone 15 Pro lineup

Apple to Address iPhone 15 Pro Overheating Issue With iOS 17 Update

Saturday September 30, 2023 9:28 am PDT by
Apple plans to release an iOS 17 update to address a bug that may contribute to the reported iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max overheating issue, according to a statement the company shared today with MacRumors and Forbes reporter David Phelan. Apple also says some recent updates to third-party apps have overloaded the system and contributed to the overheating issue. The report notes that...
iPhone 15 USB C Port Keynote

Some USB-C Power Banks Fail to Work With iPhone 15

Thursday September 28, 2023 2:06 pm PDT by
Apple added a USB-C port to the iPhone 15 lineup this year, allowing it to work with USB-C cables, USB-C power banks, and more. It turns out that some USB-C battery packs are not working properly with Apple's iPhone 15, resulting in charging issues. As highlighted on Reddit and the MacRumors forums, not all existing USB-C power banks can be used with the iPhone 15 models, perhaps due to the...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 for All iPhones and iPads

Tuesday September 26, 2023 12:47 pm PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates, with the software coming five days after the releases of iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1. Today's iOS 17.0.2 and iPadOS 17.0.2 updates arrive as build 21A351 and can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. Note that iOS 17.0.2 was previously made available for iPhone...