What a difference AirPlay icons make: They tell users what content they're currently mirroring

Apple's operating systems use the AirPlay wireless communication protocol, which can be used to stream video and audio from one device to another. In practice, it has quite a solid use. We can practically immediately mirror our iPhone, Mac or iPad to Apple TV and project the given content on a large scale, or mirror from an iOS/iPadOS device to macOS. Of course, AirPlay can also be used to play music in the case of the HomePod (mini). In that case, we use AirPlay for audio transmission.

But you might have noticed that the AirPlay protocol/service actually has two different icons. If you've ever wondered why you see this in some cases and the other in other cases, then you're in the right place. In this article, we will shed light directly on this issue and explain why Apple decided on this difference. Basically, it helps us with orientation. You can see what kind of icons we are talking about in the image below.

home pod mini

HomePod mini FB

HomePod mini-4

HomePod mini Official 4

HomePod mini 1

HomePod mini-3

A better overview of what we mirror

As we mentioned above, in the case of AirPlay, Apple uses two different icons to help us better orient ourselves. You can see them both in the picture below this paragraph. If you see the icon on the left in apple operating systems, then it is more or less clear. Based on the display, it can be concluded that in such a case video streaming is taking place. If, on the other hand, the icon that you can see on the right is displayed, it means only one thing - sound is "currently" streaming. Based on this, you can immediately determine what you are actually sending somewhere. While the first of them is common when mirroring to Apple TV, for example, you will encounter the second mainly with HomePod (mini).

• Icon with display: AirPlay is used for video and audio mirroring (e.g. from iPhone to Apple TV)
• Icon with circles: AirPlay is used for audio streaming (e.g. from iPhone to HomePod mini)

Subsequently, colors can still be distinguished. If the icon, regardless of which one it is currently in question, is white/grayed out, it only means one thing. You are not currently streaming any content from your device, so AirPlay is not being used (at most it is available). Otherwise, the icon may turn blue - at that moment the image/sound is already being transmitted.

AirPlay uses different icons for video mirroring (left) and audio streaming (right)