If you want to use your iPhone or iPad to control audio playback from your device or to other devices that are part of the Apple ecosystem (such as Apple TV, HomePod, or HomePod mini) or that support AirPlay for streaming, Apple provides media player control. You find and switch between sources through the Control Center and audio playback apps. However, since Apple has made the player richer, it has also made it harder to understand what’s going on.

In particular, it can be difficult to find out if you are streaming media from your iPhone or iPad to the device, or you control device so that it comes directly from the library on the local network or over the Internet.

The main view of the media player with AirPlay displays destinations and their associated icons. The label at the top shows the path iPhone -> HomePod mini (named “Parents’ Bedroom”).

Let’s start with the basics: swipe to open the Control Center and then press and hold the media player icon in the top right corner. This shows the full interface of the media player. On this first screen, whatever device you last controlled appears in the media player, typically with a thumbnail, playback controls, a volume control, and an icon to the right of the playback controls.

This icon shows one of the following:

  • An AirPlay icon that you can click to select one or more directions for audio streaming from your iPhone or iPad.
  • A device or set of devices icon indicating that AirPlay is already set up to stream to other audio outputs.
  • An icon that indicates a device that the media player controls directly, such as the Apple TV or HomePod icon.

Below the thumbnail and above the title on iOS and iPadOS, the device name and AirPlay destinations, if any, are displayed. You can see on iPhone:

  • iphone
  • iPhone -> device name (or several directions)
  • device namelike the name HomePod
  • device namelike Apple TV name
The expanded media player on the left shows the “Parents’ Bedroom” (a mini HomePod) as a managed device; in the center you can see all available media players; on the right, the iPhone is streaming audio to the HomePod.

To switch between potential media player controls, tap Controlling other speakers and TVs. This shows a view with small lollipops for each active potential target, clearly labeled as above. If a device has a current selection, you can click the play or pause button to the right of its diamond. You can also tap on any diamond to select it and make it the frontmost media player that will appear the next time you open the Control Center. This device can be controlled both in the main view of the Control Center, and as a controller displayed if you hold and click on the Control Center media player lozenge.

I’ve noticed that third party audio apps can override the label in some views. With Castro, the labels overlap in the main player view and I need to click the AirPlay icon or other icon to the right of the playback progress bar to see the full label that appears at the top in that view to make sure I’m controlling the correct device. Or do I have to click “Control other speakers and TVs” to see the shortcut there.

Some audio applications may disable the clear display of the control unit and audio path. In this case, tap to view other media players.

This Mac 911 article is in response to a question posed by Macworld reader Andrew.

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