Samsung were the first tech giant to announce that their smart TVs would offer support for AirPlay and HomeKit, followed by Vizio. The smart TV maker announced that the integration of AirPlay and HomeKit with SmartCast will mean that Vizio TV owners can link their Apple devices up to their TVs to browse and watch content from iTunes, as well as any music, videos or photos on the same device.
The feature is set to be introduced to beta users of the SmartCast 3.0 platform in the first quarter of the year for residents in the United States and Canada before being made available to all SmartCast TV users in the second quarter. Those receiving the feature in the second quarter will be able to access it via a free, over-the-air update to the 3.0 version of the platform.
LG follow suit
After Samsung and Vizio, LG also announced that they would be adding support for Apple’s AirPlay and HomeKit to their smart TVs. Consumers who choose to buy an LG TV this year should be able to share content to their TV using AirPlay 2 through their iPhone, iPad or Mac. The compatibility with HomeKit will also allow users to create custom scenarios and control the TV using voice assistant Siri.
Tim Alessi, Senior Director of Home Entertainment Product Marketing spoke of the decision during LG’s CES press conference: “Many of our customers may also happen to have Apple devices.
“LG has been working with Apple as well to create a streamlined user experience. So I’m very pleased to announce today that we’re adding Apple AirPlay to our 2019 TVs.”
The option to support HomeKit will allow users to add their TV to the Home app of their iOs device and/or Mac. This will allow you to control basic TV features from the Home app, as well as enabling you to assign Siri keywords so that you are able to manage your TV via Siri.