Apple has always made it easy to play and share music across its devices, and the next versions of the company’s operating systems for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers will expand those features for cars, hotels and personal connections.

The mixed-reality Vision Pro headset was the major highlight of Apple’s WWDC 2023 event Monday, but the two-hour show was packed with tons of improvements and new features across the Apple ecosystem. A new AirDrop feature will let iOS users easily kick off shared listening experiences (as well as easily share contact info), and AirPlay and CarPlay will both make it easier for Apple users to stream and share music when traveling.

Learn more about the new announcements from WWDC 2023 about sharing and playing music with Apple devices. For more from WWDC, check out everything new in iOS 17 and the new gaming mode for MacOS.

New AirDrop features in iOS 17 will let you share music easily

An update to iOS for iPhones will soon add a new phone gesture for launching an AirDrop, Apple’s Bluetooth-based system for secure personal sharing. Now users will only need to «bump» their devices by bringing them close together to initiate an AirDrop and share contact info or other files.

The new AirDrop functionality will make it easier for Apple users to kick off shared experiences as well. Bumping devices will also enable starting SharePlay, which lets two people listen to the same music or watch the same movie simultaneously. 

At the WWDC event, Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi gave the example of two people running together who bump their phones to start listening to the same music at the same time. Similarly, two friends at a coffee shop could bump phones to watch the same video stream together.

CarPlay will make it easier to share music on road trips 

Apple also showed off the integration of SharePlay with CarPlay, which will make it possible for everyone in the car to contribute to a road-trip playlist without passing a phone around. If you’re running CarPlay and using Apple Music, everyone in the car with an iPhone should be able to join your share and add songs to the playlist. 

Apple didn’t announce a release date for SharePlay in CarPlay, and it’s not clear yet whether the new SharePlay feature will support music apps other than Apple Music.

AirPlay will let you play music and movies on hotel devices

Apple announced an upcoming partnership with hotels to allow iPhone, iPad and Mac users to stream music and movies directly to hotel devices. While the most obvious use of AirPlay in hotels will be playing your movies and TV shows on the big screen, you’ll also probably be able to stream music to the hotel TV for a stereo music experience that doesn’t require headphones.

Pairing your Apple device with the hotel’s will be as simple as scanning a QR code. According to the WWDC announcement, «AirPlay will be available in select hotels before the end of the year.»

AirPlay will also soon learn your favorite music preferences

Along with the new streaming options for music in hotels and cars, Apple AirPlay is set to start learning your listening preferences and adapting to them. iPhones and iPads will soon use «on-device intelligence» to analyze your listening habits and adjust playback suggestions accordingly.

In the example provided at WWDC, someone who always listens to music while cooking dinner would be prompted to stream their music via a kitchen HomePod speaker during the usual time for food preparation.

You’ll also soon be able to initiate an AirPlay session using Siri and your Apple HomePod, letting you control the music playing at home with only your voice.

Other new audio features announced at Apple WWDC 2023

Sharing and streaming music more easily were the main audio features announced at WWDC, but there were a few other minor announcements that could improve the listening experience for AirPods, iPhones and iPads.

First, a new iOS diary app called Journal will use curated information from your device — such as photos, music and location — to create personalized prompts for your journaling. You’ll soon be able to simply tap a song on your Apple device to add it to your Journal entry.

Also, Apple AirPods will soon add a new feature called «adaptive audio,» which dynamically tweaks volume and noise cancellation based on what you’re listening to and the sounds around you. A personalized volume system will also adjust your sound based on your listening preferences over time.

Read more: AirPods Getting a Cool New Feature That Sony Earbuds Already Have

For more on Apple’s WWDC 2023, check out all the new features coming to the Apple Watch with WatchOS 10 and get all the details on the biggest MacBook Air ever.