What is the difference in icons? AirPlay: They tell the user what content they are currently mirroring

A wireless communication protocol works within Apple operating systems AirPlay, which allows you to stream video audio from one device to another. In practice, it has quite a solid use. We can practically instantly mirror our iPhone, Mac or iPad to Apple TV and project the given content on a large scale, or from iOS/iPadOS mirror device to macOSOf course you can AirPlay can also be used for playing music in case HomePodin (mini). In that case then AirPlay we use it for sound transmission.

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

HomePod 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 bets on two different icons in order to help us orient ourselves better. 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 one is common when mirroring for example to Apple TV, you will encounter the latter mainly at HomePodin (mini).

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

You can then differentiate between colors. If the icon, regardless of what it is currently, is white/grayed out, it means one thing. You are not currently streaming any content from your device and AirPlay is not 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)