Apple has made it easier to share audio from one device to AirPods. If you and your friend both have a pair of AirPods, you can both listen to the same audio from the iPhone quite seamlessly. Audio Sharing is a new feature in iOS 13 and this is how it works.
If you’ve got two AirPods, sharing audio this way is much more elegant and seamless compared to the old ways of using a splitter or just handing one AirPod to another friend. This process also works with Powerbeats Pro.
Share Audio to Multiple AirPods from iPhone Running iOS 13
If both you and your friend are running iOS 13 on your respective iPhones, and both of you have AirPods paired with your iPhones, all you really need to do is put the two devices near each other while one iPhone is playing audio from an app. You can put one iPhone on top of another to make the process simpler.
The following devices support this feature (devices with Bluetooth 5.0):
- iOS 13: iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, iPhone XR, iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max; or an iPod Touch (seventh-generation).
- iPadOS 13: iPad Pro 11-inch; iPad Pro 12.9-inch (second-generation or later); iPad Air (third-generation); iPad mini (fifth-generation).
When you put the iPhones next to each other, you’ll get a prompt asking if you want to share audio with the other device. Just tap on “Share Audio” button to start sharing.
How to Share Audio Directly to AirPods from iPhone
What if the other person doesn’t have their iPhone but does have a pair of AirPods. You can still use this feature to manually pair the second pair of AirPods.
And it’s exactly the same as the normal AirPods pairing process.
Open the AirPods case near the iPhone and press and hold on the button at the back of the AirPods case. Tap on Connect when the pairing popup shows up.
Once connected, two AirPods will show up in the AirPlay menu. So start playing the media, tap on the AirPlay button and then from the outputs screen, select both AirPods. The audio will now play on both devices.
More iOS 13 How-tos
We’re working on bringing you more detailed guides for how to use the new and awesome features in iOS 13. Once you’ve read our iOS 13 tips and tricks article, read our how-tos below.
