Apple Delays iOS 17's AirPlay in Hotel Room Feature Until 2024

Monday December 11, 2023 11:11 am PST by Joe Rossignol

Apple today updated the iOS 17 page on its website to indicate that its AirPlay feature for hotel room TVs has been delayed until next year.

airplay hotels
Apple originally said the feature was "coming later this year," but it now says it will be "coming in an update in 2024." Apple did not provide a more specific timeframe, but the feature should be added in an iOS 17 update in the first half of next year.

The feature will allow iPhone users to scan a QR code on their hotel room TV to establish an AirPlay connection, allowing them to wirelessly stream videos, photos, and music from their iPhone to the TV. Google already offers a similar feature on some hotel TVs, allowing guests to stream content from their smartphone via Chromecast.

Apple in June said Holiday Inn owner IHG Hotels & Resorts would be one of the first hotel companies to adopt the feature, while LG announced that it would be one of the first hotel room TV manufacturers to support the feature.

Tag: AirPlay

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

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Top Rated Comments

theguy56

37 months ago

I figured this feature would have been a successful as the “gym equipment integrated with the health app” from years past. Years later and I have yet to see it.

Apple assumes big time that entire industries will integrate with them quickly and it’s almost never the case.

Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)

dontwalkhand

37 months ago

Hah. Not a million years will I ever count on this feature being available at a hotel I'm staying at.

If I need Airplay in a hotel I'm bringing an Apple TV and an HDMI cable.

Just bring an HDMI to USB-C/Lightning adapter and play stuff directly from the phone. One less device to carry that way.

Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)

kc9hzn

37 months ago

This seems like one of those GymKit type features that’ll notionally exist but that I forget that they exist since it depends on other businesses’ choices and not mine. I don’t see myself choosing a hotel based on “does it support AirPlay in Hotel Room” the same way I might choose a car based on its CarPlay support.

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

zorinlynx

37 months ago

Hah. Not a million years will I ever count on this feature being available at a hotel I'm staying at.

If I need Airplay in a hotel I'm bringing an Apple TV and an HDMI cable.

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

flexwithmarius

37 months ago

I didn't know this would be a feature. It's actually going to be quite complicated to implement, because there are a lot of issues. Some obvious ones:
[LIST=1]
* will the connection be wifi direct? It'll have to be, to be secure. You don't want TVs on the guest-accessible network.
* will the TV also be connected to an internal hotel network?
* what kind of telemetry/logging will be available?
* if something goes wrong, what can the front desk do about it?

If it's not wifi direct and some sort of airdrop-type thing, well, that'll be harder for the OEM to implement.

But it's a good idea. I've been to a number of hotels where someone else's crews are in Netflix etc.

Usually the TVs in guest rooms are just monitors. They have an IP-based media box that connects to a head unit in the server room and property management system, enabling ordering room service, putting your name on the TV, etc.

I think, IIRC, an AC Hotel (Marriott) I stayed at had AirPlay in the room and it had you connect to a special wifi network. It was unique to your room and disappeared when the AirPlay session was ended.

I’d assume those media boxes have their own in-built diagnostics for IT to troubleshoot. And all of that IT work is usually contracted out, not done by hotel staff.

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

mannyvel

37 months ago

I didn't know this would be a feature. It's actually going to be quite complicated to implement, because there are a lot of issues. Some obvious ones:
[LIST=1]
* will the connection be wifi direct? It'll have to be, to be secure. You don't want TVs on the guest-accessible network.
* will the TV also be connected to an internal hotel network?
* what kind of telemetry/logging will be available?
* if something goes wrong, what can the front desk do about it?

If it's not wifi direct and some sort of airdrop-type thing, well, that'll be harder for the OEM to implement.

But it's a good idea. I've been to a number of hotels where someone else's crews are in Netflix etc.

Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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Apple Delays iOS 17's AirPlay in Hotel Room Feature Until 2024

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