If you press Play or Forward on a Bluetooth remote and Apple Podcasts, Music or another audio app starts up instead of Slatable, here's what's going on and how to get around it.
Why it happens
iOS treats the play, pause, forward and back buttons on a Bluetooth remote as media controls, the same as the buttons on a pair of headphones. It sends them to whichever app it currently considers the Now Playing app, which is the one you see in Control Center and on the Lock Screen. If Slatable isn't the Now Playing app at the moment you press the button, iOS hands the press to another app instead, usually the last one that played audio, like Podcasts or Music. That's why a podcast can start even though Slatable is open on your screen.
Why the volume button works
The volume up (+) button on a remote, and the button on a Bluetooth shutter remote, work differently. iOS handles them as a volume press rather than a media command, so they don't get sent to another app. Slatable listens for volume up and plays the next reader line when you press it.
What to do
- Use the volume up (+) button on your remote, or a Bluetooth shutter button, to play the next line. This works consistently.
- If you'd rather use Play, restarting your device and opening Slatable before any other audio app can help.
- In Manual mode, Bluetooth control is on by default. In Auto, Silence and Continuous, tap the mode to open its settings and turn on the Bluetooth toggle.
If you have an Apple Watch with the Slatable companion app installed, you can also use it to play the next line.
The same thing can happen with the forward and back buttons that start and stop the standalone teleprompter.
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