Maybe some of you already have installed iOS 17.3 on your iPhone device. Some days ago Apple revealed the full release notes for iOS 17.3, which allows iPhones to establish a connection with specific televisions in hotel rooms via AirPlay.
“AirPlay hotel support lets you stream content directly to your in-room TV at select hotels.”
Let's see exactly what it is and how to use it. Go for it!
What's new in iOS 17.3
The function allows iPhone users scan a QR code on a compatible hotel room TV to establish an AirPlay connection, which allows us to wirelessly transmit videos, photos and music from our iPhone to the television. Google already offers a similar feature on some hotel TVs, allowing guests to stream content from their smartphone via Chromecast.
In June 2023, Apple said that Holiday Inn's parent company, IHG Hotels & Resorts, planned to adopt the feature, but it was unknown when they would make the feature available. LG previously announced that it would be one of the first hotel room TV manufacturers to support such a feature.
Additionally, Apple originally said the feature would launch last year, but it was delayed until 2024. The feature claims that iPhone users can use this functionality to effortlessly establish an AirPlay connection by scanning a QR code displayed on a bedroom TV. compatible hotel. This allows us to wirelessly stream a variety of media, including videos, photos and music, directly from your iPhone to the TV.
On the other hand, tell you that Apple commemorates Black History Month introducing a new wallpaper, called Unity Bloom, for all devices compatible with this new iOS 17.3 update.
Apple Music introduced collaborative playlists during the WWDC 2023 event in June. Initially, this feature was included in certain beta versions of iOS 17.2, but Apple decided to remove it from the final version. However, with the release of iOS 17.3, Apple has reintroduced collaborative playlists, allowing multiple people to edit and manage shared playlists in Apple Music. And we already have available Apple Music Replay 2024.
How AirPlay works
AirPlay is Apple's wireless technology that allows you to stream audio and video from one device to the speaker or screen of another device.. You can use it to stream music to AirPlay speakers in your home, or you could use it to send an Apple Fitness+ workout to a slightly larger TV.
Smart AirPlay, which comes to iPhone and iPad in iOS 17, is several things. On the one hand, use AI to learn how you use it and it could automatically suggest a nearby speaker to connect to instead of choosing it from a list.
But Intelligent AirPlay also lets you stream video to a hotel TV, as we've seen above, by simply scanning a QR code and your phone will connect to the hotel's Wi-Fi and access AirPlay.
With this new functionality, a problem may arise. Like any public Wi-Fi, it's best to avoid hotel Wi-Fi. Any network you join has potential access to all types of data from your devices. After all, you have to send all the credentials, passwords, etc., over the network just to receive your email, which is probably the most sensitive of all your data.
Public Wi-Fi networks, including hotels, are considered risky due to the need for strong security measures.
The problem with Wi-Fi hotspots is that you don't know who controls it. In a cafe, who knows if Wi-Fi has been set up to spoof popular services like Gmail to harvest passwords? And it may not be the coffee shop owner who does it. A poorly secured network is vulnerable to exploitation and could be compromised and used without the owner's knowledge.
“Public Wi-Fi networks, including hotels, are considered risky due to the need for strong security measures. This openness makes it easier for malicious actors to eavesdrop on data being transmitted over the network. However, using something like AirPlay on these networks doesn't automatically spell disaster," technology writer and software developer Rajeev Bera told Lifewire via email.
Security measures with AirPlay
You can probably be pretty sure that the hotel's Wi-Fi is operated by the hotel, but that doesn't really help. Stay New England co-founder and travel writer Michael Donovan experienced it firsthand.
"I was in a hotel in Barcelona, excited to stream my favorite show, only to find out that my credit card data was wiped when I connected to the hotel's Wi-Fi," says Donovan.
The best way to protect yourself from the dangers of public Wi-Fi is to not use it. Instead, rely on your phone's data plan and use your laptop or iPad to watch movies. It's less convenient, but not as inconvenient as having to cancel your credit cards or try to regain access to your email.
The next best thing is to use a VPN, or virtual private network, which can avoid many of the dangers of public Wi-Fi. The problem is that all your data travels through the VPN, so you better make sure you trust the provider completely.
Conclusion
As our devices become more complex, they offer us more and more services and seemingly make those services easier to use. But convenience often comes at a cost, and this time the cost is safety. Maybe Apple has found a special, secure way to join hotel Wi-Fi, and we'll find out in the fall. But probably not, so be careful.
As always, I hope that this article on how with AirPlay you can send content from the iPhone to the hotel television has been useful and enjoyable for you.