LG TVs get Apple AirPlay 2 and Homekit support: Awesome news for iPhone owners
2019’s LG ThinQ TVs will get Apple AirPlay 2 and Homekit support from 25 July through an over the air update.
LG confirmed its 2019 OLED TVs, NanoCell TVs and UHD TVs with ThinQ AI capability will all be getting the update on Wednesday. The upgrade should radically improve their smart capabilities for Apple device users.
Homekit is Apple’s attempt to create a one stop control centre for any smart home. I debuted in iOS 8 in 2014 and works with numerous big brand kit including Philips Hue.
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The new support means users will be able to control their LG TV using Apple’s Home App and Siri digital assistant.
While this is cool, the AirPlay 2 functionality is a little more impressive. The functionality will let Apple users stream content from their iPhone, iPad and Mac direct to the TV. This includes Dolby Vision – if the TV is capable of displaying HDR content – regular shows, music and podcasts.
Brian Kwon, president LG Mobile Communications and Home Entertainment companies, claims LG is the first global TV company company to add Homekit and AirPlay support to its tellies.
Related: What is Apple AirPlay 2?
“LG remains at the forefront of TV technological innovation because of our never-ending quest to deliver the best home viewing experience,” he said.
“With Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support, we are demonstrating our commitment to offering consumer benefits that go beyond just best-in-class picture quality.”
For Android users the news will have little impact. LG’s smart TVs already have apps for most mainstream services, like Netflix, pre-installed and Android users that want similar functionality to AirPlay 2 can manually add it by plugging in a Chromecast. The only difference is that with a Chromecast it’s slightly more difficult to sync the TVs speakers with external sound systems.
The news comes during a wider push to grow its TV business. Reports broke the company is investing in a new OLED manufacturing plant in its native Korea to create panels for its TVs.
Samsung has also been growing its TV business, investing heavily in new microLED screen technology it claims will offer “industry leading” picture quality.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
