
If you wish to use your iPhone or iPad to deal with audio playback out of your system or to different units which are a part of the Apple ecosystem (like an Apple TV, HomePod, or HomePod mini) or that assist AirPlay for streaming, Apple offers management by means of a media participant. You discover and swap amongst sources by means of the Management Middle and inside audio-playback apps. Nonetheless, as Apple has made the participant richer, it’s additionally made it extra sophisticated to grasp what’s happening.
Specifically, it may be laborious to determine whether or not you’re streaming media out of your iPhone or iPad to a tool otherwise you’re controlling a tool in order that it’s streaming instantly from a library on the native community or over the Web.

Let’s begin with the fundamentals: swipe to disclose the Management Middle after which press and maintain on the media participant lozenge within the higher proper nook. This reveals the total media participant interface. On that first display screen, whichever system you final managed seems within the media participant, usually with a thumbnail, playback controls, quantity management, and an icon to the suitable of the playback controls.
This icon reveals one of many following:
- An AirPlay icon you may faucet to decide on a number of locations to stream audio out of your iPhone or iPad
- An icon for a tool or a set of units indicating that AirPlay is already set to stream to different audio outputs
- An icon that signifies the system that the media participant controls instantly, corresponding to an Apple TV or HomePod icon
Beneath the thumbnail and above the title, iOS and iPadOS present the identify of the system and AirPlay targets, if any. You may see on an iPhone:
- iPhone
- iPhone -> system identify (or a number of locations)
- system identify, like a HomePod’s identify
- system identify, like an Apple TV’s identify

To change among the many potential media gamers’ controls, faucet Management Different Audio system & TVs. This reveals a view with small lozenges for every energetic, potential goal with a transparent label as above. If there’s a present choice for a tool, you may faucet the play button or pause button on the proper of its lozenge. You too can faucet any lozenge to pick out it and make it the frontmost media participant that seems the subsequent time you carry up Management Middle. This system will be managed each in the principle Management Middle view and would be the controller proven when you maintain and press on the Management Middle’s media participant lozenge.
I’ve seen that third-party audio apps may overlap the label in some views. With Castro, the labels overlap in the principle participant view, and I’ve to faucet the AirPlay or different icon to the suitable of the play progress bar to see the total label, which seems on the prime in that view, to ensure I’m controlling the right system. Or, I’ve to faucet Management Different Audio system & TVs to see the label there.

This Mac 911 article is in response to a query submitted by Alokito Mymensingh 24 reader Andrew.
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