With the release of iOS 8.4 and the introduction of Apple Music, our iPhones and iPads can't use Home Sharing to play music. Apple senior vice president of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue says that feature could return in iOS 9, although he isn't saying why it was removed.
Home Sharing for Music may return in iOS 9
In response to a request on Twitter to bring back Home Sharing for music, Mr. Cue responded by saying, "We are working to have Home Sharing in iOS 9."
Apple shut off the ability to stream music from your computer to your iOS device in iOS 8.4 without any explanation. It's possible the change was necessary to land the licensing deals Apple wanted for streaming music for the new Apple Music service, although the company isn't commenting on the decision.
Twitter, it seems, is Mr. Cue's new favorite platform for making public announcements. Mr. Cue used recently used Twitter to say a beta of iOS 9 with Apple Music support would be coming this week, and he used the social networking service to respond to Taylor Swift's criticism over how Apple was handling streaming music royalties.
Regardless of the reasons behind pulling the feature, it looks like Apple is at least considering bringing Home Sharing for music back to the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch this fall when iOS 9 ships.