SharePlay, announced at WWDC 2021, is a feature I've needed throughout the pandemic: like Netflix Party and Disney Plus GroupWatch, SharePlay allows you to enjoy streamed movies and songs with others simultaneously. and adds FaceTime calling on top of that.

This is a big win for those who, over the last year (and years before that), have been forced to go online to share live experiences. I have frequently used Discord or Google Meet to watch shows with friends who could not be in the same room.

I've been able to watch some of the crappiest movies of the past year, including "Wonder Woman 1984" and Zack Snyder's "Justice League," with friends and share jokes so we can enjoy them a little more.

But the method was flawed at best. We had to do a countdown at the beginning of the film, and it didn't always work. Inevitably, someone would get out of sync. Most of the time we were not watching movies on Disney Plus, Hulu, or Prime Video, so we could not use the existing options.

However, we can already see cracks in the mold when it comes to SharePlay.

Apple has put forward a fairly decent list of apps that support SharePlay: Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus (in the Disney Plus bundle), the first two of which already have their own methods for synchronized viewing. SharePlay adds video calling capabilities via FaceTime to Disney Plus' GroupWatch and Hulu's Watch Party feature.

As someone who has been trying to master multiple devices and services simultaneously to make these calls work, I am excited about this unification; SharePlay also has a trick to make these calls hassle-free. Apple claims that "the volume is automatically adjusted so you can continue to talk while watching instead of having to mute and unmute."

HBO Max and Paramount Plus are the two major partners for this service, as they do not have remote viewing capabilities at all. The list of other apps announced includes the NBA app, Pluto TV, TikTok, Twitch, MasterClass, and Zillow. Of course, your mileage may vary when considering the value of remote viewing each with others.

Apple is trying to make SharePlay a universally adopted feature, as its SharePlay page for developers indicates. But so far, Amazon Prime Video (with its own Watch Party feature) is missing, and live TV streaming services like Sling TV, YouTube TV, and Fubo TV are not mentioned. the inclusion of Hulu means that Hulu With Live TV is also expected to be included, but it is not certain.

And while I am a bit annoyed not to see these omissions on this list (as well as YouTube), Netflix's absence is far more concerning.

Netflix is one of the largest services on the planet (and in my own daily consumption), but it's not part of this conversation right now. And Netflix has long lacked any semblance of a shared viewing experience, which is a bit disconcerting. Sure, Netflix Party and the like exist, but they don't work on streaming devices (only laptops), and Apple's solution is far more ideal.

And since both SharePlay calls seem to require their own subscriptions to the app or service in question, this does not seem to be a situation where DRM issues are a concern. Why is Netflix not on this list? Because it is clearly lacking and needs something like this.

I called Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, to get his perspective. Netflix needs something like this, he believes. There is a ton of content. Now, the magic element here is interactivity, collaborative features."

We bet that Netflix is likely working on its own version and is set to eventually roll it out. This is not a feature the company necessarily needs. People subscribe to the service for the programming, not the software. But if it can be perfected, it will make Netflix look good in the eyes of its customers.

Dergarabedian agrees, saying, "I think we are now in a world that is primarily and first and foremost content driven. So while Netflix's library may be its greatest weapon, he says.

"In the future, we want content, but if it doesn't have the added value of being able to exchange ideas and collaborative experiences with others, that may be the deciding factor in adding another service rather than necessarily discontinuing a particular service."

He also believes it could be key to the Netflix partnership. FOMO is not just for consumers; FOMO applies not only to consumers, but also to creators and technology companies.

First of all, SharePlay only works with iOS 15, iPadOS 15, macOS Monterey, and tvOS 15. This means that it can only stream with people within Apple's "walled garden" and everyone has to upgrade to the latest OS. The latter could easily be remedied, but I have an Android-using member of my horror movie club, and I have no intention of forcing him to switch to the iPhone.

Second, while the inclusion of tvOS and Apple TV is great, it's hard to imagine how it will work. the Apple TV has no camera or microphone, so what about people using SharePlay via the Apple TV? What if the Apple TV has external Will it ever support a webcam?

Some people may watch video on a smaller screen, but it is not hard to argue that Apple TV and tvOS need to be prepared to support true SharePlay.

There is a possible solution: could tvOS work with the front-facing cameras of iPhones, iPads, and Macs? iPhone Face ID will work with tvOS app login in an update this fall, and it already uses the front-facing camera, so it seems not impossible. It seems likely.

All that's left is to prop up the iPhone, iPad, or MacBook and focus on the face.

Most of these flaws (we doubt SharePlay will come to Roku and Fire TV) could be fixed by fall 2021, when SharePlay is set to debut with Apple's all new OS updates. And for the sake of all involved, it should be; without Netflix's participation, Apple will be here, too, and the online conversation (Fortnite gamers are "What's up.")

Maybe Netflix will have its own solution by then. Maybe it will have its own solution, one that works with Fire TV, Roku devices, and iOS and Android phones. Or there may be too many partners for it to work. But we are hopeful, a better remote watch party is what we all deserve, especially after the nonsense of the past year or more.

For more recommendations, be sure to check out my guide to the best streaming devices (and best streaming services). If there's anything you'd like to see covered in the streaming world, please email me at [email protected] or leave it in the comments section below.