Disney announced today that it has updated its Disney+ app to integrate SharePlay support on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. This feature is already available globally across the entire Disney+ catalog of content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic and Star, including upcoming titles like The Book of Boba Fett and Encanto.
SharePlay allows users running macOS 12.1 Monterey, released in the past few hours, iOS 15.1, iPadOS 15.1 and tvOS 15.1 or later to watch Disney + series and movies in sync with friends and family during a FaceTime call.
SharePlay sessions on FaceTime can include up to 32 people and offer each participant in the call, in addition to the ability to choose audio and subtitles, also shared playback controls to pause or forward the synchronized content.
When someone on the call starts talking, the audio of the streaming content is automatically lowered allowing you to continue the conversation even during a noisy scene. For those who prefer not to interrupt the audio, just tap the Messages button in the FaceTime controls to open a thread and continue the conversation.
SharePlay also allows you to view content in picture-in-picture mode while you perform other activities on your Apple device. Obviously, SharePlay is not an alternative solution to make free streaming. All participants, in fact, must have an active Disney + subscription to also use the function.
Disney also said the native GroupWatch feature, already featured on Disney +, will continue to be available globally to all subscribers. As is already the case with GroupWatch, SharePlay will also not be supported on children’s profiles.