macOS 12.1 beta brings back SharePlay support, but still no sign of Universal Control

Apple has released the first beta of macOS 12.1 Monterey for both developers and public testers. This update comes after the public release of macOS 12.0.1 early last week. The latest build brings back SharePlay support, a feature that is missing in the initial stable build. However, there’s still no sign of Universal Control, which should be available by the end of the year.

SharePlay

SharePlay allows friends and family to consume digital goods together. Users can now listen to Apple Music, control the same queue, watch Apple TV+ content, work out on Fitness+, share their screens, and more, all through FaceTime calls. It’s worth noting that they would each need to have a valid subscription to the respective service to participate.

This social feature has an API that third-party developers can take advantage of. So you won’t be limited to Apple’s apps and services. However, if Spotify decides to implement this feature, for example, your Apple Music friends won’t be able to join unless they have Spotify accounts. So this will further intensify the competition between rivals. Friend groups will likely settle or one service and ditch the other, if they plan on using SharePlay actively.

Universal Control

Universal Control almost breaks the space-time continuum by allowing you to drag-and-drop items from one device to another. You can pair up to three Mac and/or iPad devices and move your cursor through them all, magically. This is perfect for artists and designers who use their iPads to illustrate but resume their work on macOS. The process is natural and effortless.

The feature was first teased during the opening keynote of WWDC21, back in June. While signs of it had surfaced in a previous macOS 12 Monterey beta, the settings have been completely removed in macOS 12.1 beta 1. We will likely see it return in a more functional state in a future macOS beta, though.

What macOS 12 Monterey feature is your favorite? Let us know in the comments section below.

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