Reminder: Apple includes a tiny AirPlay toggle in iOS 11's Control Center for iPhone and i...

Posted:
in iPhone edited October 2020
Apple, in its "infinite wisdom," compacted the Control Center in iOS 11, and gave AirPlay even less of a starring role on it. With HomePod now available and able to have audio streamed via AirPlay, AppleInsider shows you where the AirPlay button is, and two slightly different ways to turn it on.




It's all still there, it's just not as obvious how to AirPlay content from your device as it used to be. From the Control Center, give it either a firm press on your 3D Touch-enabled phone, or a long-press on an iPad to select output options. That will allow you to toggle AirPlay as an output.




If you want to go straight to AirPlay from the Control Center, precisely tap on the icon that looks like half a Wi-Fi logo to bring up the customary controls.




If you're looking to stream content to Apple's newly released HomePod from your iPhone or iPad, you'll do it through AirPlay, as the smart speaker does not support streaming audio over Bluetooth.
jahblade
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 23
    Thanks for the tip. I already knew this & used it for my AirPlay Speakers & AirPods. This was quite helpful.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 23
    This is the number one thing that drives me nuts about iOS 11. I switch outputs 3+ times a day, as I go from home audio to airpods back home etc. No idea why they buried that away right when Airplay (in whatever its evolving form is) is becoming more ubiquitous than ever.
    lukeiking editor the grateentropysanantksundaramretrogusto
  • Reply 3 of 23
    Eric_WVGG said:
    This is the number one thing that drives me nuts about iOS 11. I switch outputs 3+ times a day, as I go from home audio to airpods back home etc. No idea why they buried that away right when Airplay (in whatever its evolving form is) is becoming more ubiquitous than ever.
    I believe people complained when AirPlay had its own page in Control Center on iOS 10.
    But personally I like this better since it needs 2 clicks while in iOS 10 it needed 3.
    Plus its more customisable.

    edited February 2018 lkruppjahbladewatto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 23
    Don’t forget that you can also choose what you want to AirPlay to directly from the Music app.  The AirPlay icon is at the bottom of the “Now Playing” screen, centered beneath that Play/Pause button.
    kudu
  • Reply 5 of 23
    Eric_WVGG said:
    This is the number one thing that drives me nuts about iOS 11. I switch outputs 3+ times a day, as I go from home audio to airpods back home etc. No idea why they buried that away right when Airplay (in whatever its evolving form is) is becoming more ubiquitous than ever.
    There is much in iOS that I no longer attempt to use.  Airplay is one of them.  I'm sure that would change if I were an Apple engineer, but I'm not.

    Whatever happened to ease of use?
    entropysanantksundaram
  • Reply 6 of 23
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,335member
    I kind of stumbled across this somewhat stealthy UX feature when I was setting up my HomePod. Glad to see this article because it will definitely save a lot of folks several minutes of head scratching. Thanks.
    jahbladewatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 23
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Eric_WVGG said:
    This is the number one thing that drives me nuts about iOS 11. I switch outputs 3+ times a day, as I go from home audio to airpods back home etc. No idea why they buried that away right when Airplay (in whatever its evolving form is) is becoming more ubiquitous than ever.
    There is much in iOS that I no longer attempt to use.  Airplay is one of them.  I'm sure that would change if I were an Apple engineer, but I'm not.

    Whatever happened to ease of use?
    And that’s to your detriment. The inability to adapt places you behind the curve. Instead of adapting to new or different ways you just complain and stop using features. Sad.
    jony0watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 23
    I’ve found this feature ‘by mistake’ when started to use AirPods. I think it works just as it should work - if you don’t need it, you don’t notice it, it doesn’t bother you. If you need it, you simply find it :)
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 23
    Don’t forget that you can also choose what you want to AirPlay to directly from the Music app.  The AirPlay icon is at the bottom of the “Now Playing” screen, centered beneath that Play/Pause button.
    Yes, but that icon isn't in Overcast, or video players, etc.
  • Reply 10 of 23
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    lkrupp said:
    Eric_WVGG said:
    This is the number one thing that drives me nuts about iOS 11. I switch outputs 3+ times a day, as I go from home audio to airpods back home etc. No idea why they buried that away right when Airplay (in whatever its evolving form is) is becoming more ubiquitous than ever.
    There is much in iOS that I no longer attempt to use.  Airplay is one of them.  I'm sure that would change if I were an Apple engineer, but I'm not.

    Whatever happened to ease of use?
    And that’s to your detriment. The inability to adapt places you behind the curve. Instead of adapting to new or different ways you just complain and stop using features. Sad.
    Yes, clearly they are holding it wrong.

    Personally, I reckon this is another example of designers having too much power over engineers.  Apple used to be famous for having the balance at the intersection of design and engineering more right than any other competitor. This has become quite muddied in recent times.
    anantksundaramretrogusto[Deleted User]
  • Reply 11 of 23
    Yeah we know, pretty handy actually.
  • Reply 12 of 23
    You want buried? Try the AirDrop and HotSpot controls, which are not available individually in ControlCenter; instead, you have to press hard in the middle of the four wireless buttons (airplane mode, cell service, wifi and bluetooth) to bring up a larger panel containing these four buttons and AirDrop and HotSpot. Of course there is also the mystery of why we’re not good enough to get a Control Center VPN button.
    anantksundaram[Deleted User]GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 13 of 23
    slurpyslurpy Posts: 5,382member
    The vast improvements to every aspect of Apple maps since it launched has been stunning.
    Eric_WVGG said:
    This is the number one thing that drives me nuts about iOS 11. I switch outputs 3+ times a day, as I go from home audio to airpods back home etc. No idea why they buried that away right when Airplay (in whatever its evolving form is) is becoming more ubiquitous than ever.
    There is much in iOS that I no longer attempt to use.  Airplay is one of them.  I'm sure that would change if I were an Apple engineer, but I'm not.

    Whatever happened to ease of use?
    Sorry, how is Airplay in iOS11 not easy to use? I use it ALL the time, and find it more intuitive than how it was in iOS10. It takes, what, like 2 seconds to discover the new location the first time you ever use it? What am I missing? Just trying to understand the facts under the extreme hyperbole.
  • Reply 14 of 23
    entropys said:
    lkrupp said:
    Eric_WVGG said:
    This is the number one thing that drives me nuts about iOS 11. I switch outputs 3+ times a day, as I go from home audio to airpods back home etc. No idea why they buried that away right when Airplay (in whatever its evolving form is) is becoming more ubiquitous than ever.
    There is much in iOS that I no longer attempt to use.  Airplay is one of them.  I'm sure that would change if I were an Apple engineer, but I'm not.

    Whatever happened to ease of use?
    And that’s to your detriment. The inability to adapt places you behind the curve. Instead of adapting to new or different ways you just complain and stop using features. Sad.
    Yes, clearly they are holding it wrong.

    Personally, I reckon this is another example of designers having too much power over engineers.  Apple used to be famous for having the balance at the intersection of design and engineering more right than any other competitor. This has become quite muddied in recent times.
    You're all hilarious, living in a ridiculous bubble.  The iPhone is a consumer product, and I'll bet you that 98% of consumers using it have zero idea how to use these functions, and I'd bet it was 99% until AI published this (being very generous to AI).  Apple's "designers" and "engineers" (shouldn't they be the same people?) are clearly just talking to themselves when creating a UX like this, in keeping with how little Apple seems to care about its consumer base actually utilizing the product anywhere close to its potential.  Everyone I know has an iPhone, but not one of them could even tell you what Airplay even does, much less how to find its settings.   
    GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 15 of 23
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    Cynflor said:
    entropys said:
    lkrupp said:
    Eric_WVGG said:
    This is the number one thing that drives me nuts about iOS 11. I switch outputs 3+ times a day, as I go from home audio to airpods back home etc. No idea why they buried that away right when Airplay (in whatever its evolving form is) is becoming more ubiquitous than ever.
    There is much in iOS that I no longer attempt to use.  Airplay is one of them.  I'm sure that would change if I were an Apple engineer, but I'm not.

    Whatever happened to ease of use?
    And that’s to your detriment. The inability to adapt places you behind the curve. Instead of adapting to new or different ways you just complain and stop using features. Sad.
    Yes, clearly they are holding it wrong.

    Personally, I reckon this is another example of designers having too much power over engineers.  Apple used to be famous for having the balance at the intersection of design and engineering more right than any other competitor. This has become quite muddied in recent times.
    You're all hilarious, living in a ridiculous bubble.  The iPhone is a consumer product, and I'll bet you that 98% of consumers using it have zero idea how to use these functions, and I'd bet it was 99% until AI published this (being very generous to AI).  Apple's "designers" and "engineers" (shouldn't they be the same people?) are clearly just talking to themselves when creating a UX like this, in keeping with how little Apple seems to care about its consumer base actually utilizing the product anywhere close to its potential.  Everyone I know has an iPhone, but not one of them could even tell you what Airplay even does, much less how to find its settings.   
    Uh... Thanks? I think?
    GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 16 of 23
    You want buried? Try the AirDrop and HotSpot controls, which are not available individually in ControlCenter; instead, you have to press hard in the middle of the four wireless buttons (airplane mode, cell service, wifi and bluetooth) to bring up a larger panel containing these four buttons and AirDrop and HotSpot. Of course there is also the mystery of why we’re not good enough to get a Control Center VPN button.
    Buried as that may be, that's actually a hot tip! I used to go through Settings to get to the Hotspot control. Since I have iP6, I haven't really thought about features enabled by 3D touch, even though I sorta knew that long-press does the same thing.

    With that in mind, I tried long-press on all of the buttons in Control Center. How about that! (And where have I been all this time?)

    I knew enough to customize Control Center to put in a few other things that I wanted to access quickly (like AppleTV)--now Control Center is even more useful to me.
  • Reply 17 of 23
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    I must say this is an extremely informative post. Thanks AppleInsider, and also a thanks to LordJohnWhorfin as well.
    i have been frustrated trying to find airplay, airdrop and the hotspot in th call centre, and this has shown me how!
    Cynflor said:
    entropys said:
    lkrupp said:
    Eric_WVGG said:
    This is the number one thing that drives me nuts about iOS 11. I switch outputs 3+ times a day, as I go from home audio to airpods back home etc. No idea why they buried that away right when Airplay (in whatever its evolving form is) is becoming more ubiquitous than ever.
    There is much in iOS that I no longer attempt to use.  Airplay is one of them.  I'm sure that would change if I were an Apple engineer, but I'm not.

    Whatever happened to ease of use?
    And that’s to your detriment. The inability to adapt places you behind the curve. Instead of adapting to new or different ways you just complain and stop using features. Sad.
    Yes, clearly they are holding it wrong.

    Personally, I reckon this is another example of designers having too much power over engineers.  Apple used to be famous for having the balance at the intersection of design and engineering more right than any other competitor. This has become quite muddied in recent times.
    You're all hilarious, living in a ridiculous bubble.  The iPhone is a consumer product, and I'll bet you that 98% of consumers using it have zero idea how to use these functions, and I'd bet it was 99% until AI published this (being very generous to AI).  Apple's "designers" and "engineers" (shouldn't they be the same people?) are clearly just talking to themselves when creating a UX like this, in keeping with how little Apple seems to care about its consumer base actually utilizing the product anywhere close to its potential.  Everyone I know has an iPhone, but not one of them could even tell you what Airplay even does, much less how to find its settings.   
    I think Cynflor is actually in furious agreement, but misunderstood my meaning. If the access isn’t easy, people won’t use it. If they don’t discover it, even more so. And no, the designers and the engineers are not the same people, but should work together to make something better than on their own. Too much engineering power gives you Old HP.  Too much designer power gives you MacBooks with one port or an iOS GUI that makes it non trivial to discover functionality.
    edited February 2018 kingofsomewherehot
  • Reply 18 of 23
    ivanhivanh Posts: 597member
    It’s a disastrous function! How can it be disabled?

    Afer a notification appears on the Home Screen, the Play button could be activated inside my pocket. And I have to take it out to stop it. Really, really bad!!!
  • Reply 19 of 23
    slurpy said:
    The vast improvements to every aspect of Apple maps since it launched has been stunning.
    Eric_WVGG said:
    This is the number one thing that drives me nuts about iOS 11. I switch outputs 3+ times a day, as I go from home audio to airpods back home etc. No idea why they buried that away right when Airplay (in whatever its evolving form is) is becoming more ubiquitous than ever.
    There is much in iOS that I no longer attempt to use.  Airplay is one of them.  I'm sure that would change if I were an Apple engineer, but I'm not.

    Whatever happened to ease of use?
    Sorry, how is Airplay in iOS11 not easy to use? I use it ALL the time, and find it more intuitive than how it was in iOS10. It takes, what, like 2 seconds to discover the new location the first time you ever use it? What am I missing? Just trying to understand the facts under the extreme hyperbole.
    I wasn't referring specifically to iOS 11.  I'm tired of having to relearn the user interface with each new iteration.  Maybe its just me: Mac user since 1987, iPhone user since day one, iPad user since year two.
  • Reply 20 of 23
    ivanh said:
    It’s a disastrous function! How can it be disabled?

    Afer a notification appears on the Home Screen, the Play button could be activated inside my pocket. And I have to take it out to stop it. Really, really bad!!!
    Is this a situation that has happened to you or one that you’re speculating could happen? I don’t know how a notification would open Control Center, 3D Touch on the Play button, choose an AirPlay output option and start playing.  Seriously, never happened to me and I can’t think of a situation where it would.
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