Audio Sharing, a feature of iOS 13.1 enabling users to share music between two pairs of AirPods, will work with more audio accessories when it is released next week, starting with an expansion into Beats' wireless headphone range.
Introduced as part of iOS 13 but moved over to iOS 13.1, which will ship on September 24, Audio Sharing can be used to allow iPhone owners to share their device's audio between two sets of AirPods or the Beats PowerBeats Pro.
Mimicking the functionality of an audio splitter, as used for wired headphones using the depreciated headphone jack, the feature plays the same audio out to both AirPod pairs at the same time. Unlike the audio splitter method, iOS offers separate volume controls for each listener, giving each user the opportunity to set their preferred listening level.
While it was previously thought to only work with the AirPods and the PowerBeats Pro, Engadget reports the feature will in fact work with far more headphones and earphones. It is claimed the feature will in fact work with all Beats headphones that sport Apple's H1 and W1 wireless chips.
This therefore expands the range of devices compatible with Audio Sharing to include the Studio3 Wireless, BeatsX, Powerbeats3 Wireless, and Solo3 Wireless models. It is also likely to work with future Beats releases using either of the chips.
The report claims the feature will be available on Beats headphones "from September 23rd." Short of Apple bringing the release of iOS 13.1 forward by one day more, it seems more likely to occur on September 24.