Beaming content to your Apple TV is about to get a whole lot better thanks to macOS Sequoia's AirPlay upgrade

Apple TV 4K
(Image credit: Future)

  • The latest macOS Sequoia 15.2 beta adds options for screen sharing
  • The updates specifically impact sending content to an Apple TV
  • You’ll be able to share a single app or window instead of your whole screen

AirPlay is Apple’s built-in system for beaming content from an Apple product onto another device, so you can send movies from your Mac to a TV or play tunes from your iPhone out of your favorite smart speaker. And with the latest macOS Sequoia 15.2 beta, Apple is overhauling AirPlay to give you much more control when you reroute content to an Apple TV box.

As spotted by MacRumors, the macOS Sequoia 15.2 beta gives AirPlay a significant revamp. Previously, you only had the option to share your entire screen with the Apple TV. Now, though, more options have come into play.

For example, with the beta installed, you will be able to share your whole Mac screen as before, but Apple has added the ability to share just a single app or window with the Apple TV. That's a handy bonus if you don't want to share your overcrowded desktop with everyone.

As well as that, you can extend your display onto the Apple TV instead of mirroring it, which was previously the only way to send Mac content onto the Apple TV.

AirPlaying the field

Apple TV 4K with TV showing Apple TV Plus interface

(Image credit: Apple)

According to an image posted by MacRumors, each of these three options will be accompanied by a brief description so that you know what to expect. Selecting “Entire Screen,” for instance, explains that “Everything you see on your screen will be visible on [Apple TV name].” Once you’ve picked an option, you’ll be able to set it as the default, too.

Enabling users to determine exactly what is shared with their Apple TV boxes will bring a lot more flexibility to screen sharing over AirPlay, and it should also help to enhance privacy. It means that if you want to use your Apple TV to display a slideshow or a presentation, you can just share the relevant app instead of beaming the entire contents of your Mac onto a big screen.

And it’s not the only update coming to the Apple TV, as the tvOS 18.2 beta offers expanded compatibility with various aspect ratios, improves the Enhance Dialog feature, and more.

Since the improved AirPlay feature is currently only available in the macOS Sequoia 15.2 beta, it’s not available to the general public unless you have signed up for Apple’s beta program.

If you’d like to try this new feature (and all the other additions found in the latest macOS Sequoia beta, including Apple Intelligence), we’ve got a step-by-step guide that will help you get started.

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Alex Blake
Freelance Contributor

Alex Blake has been fooling around with computers since the early 1990s, and since that time he's learned a thing or two about tech. No more than two things, though. That's all his brain can hold. As well as TechRadar, Alex writes for iMore, Digital Trends and Creative Bloq, among others. He was previously commissioning editor at MacFormat magazine. That means he mostly covers the world of Apple and its latest products, but also Windows, computer peripherals, mobile apps, and much more beyond. When not writing, you can find him hiking the English countryside and gaming on his PC.

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