New in OS X: Get MacRumors Push Notifications on your Mac

Resubscribe Now Close

HTC 10 is the First Android Smartphone to Support Apple AirPlay Out of the Box

Tuesday April 12, 2016 8:13 am PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Earlier this morning, HTC announced its new smartphone, the HTC 10, revealing that the Android device will have the ability to wirelessly play audio through devices and speakers that support streaming via Apple's AirPlay feature (via SlashGear). In addition to AirPlay support, the basic specs of the phone include a 5.2-inch display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, 3,000 mAh battery for two full days of charge, and a USB Type-C port.


The addition of support for AirPlay makes the HTC 10 the first Android smartphone to work with Apple's audio and video streaming feature out of the box. AirPlay's inclusion into the HTC 10 also means that the Android device will be able to stream directly to the new Apple TV.

The move is a deliberate one by HTC, according to Darren Sng, vice president of product marketing for the company, as it plans to make its smartphones as feature rich as possible, even if it means support for third-party software. The company would even be open to including Apple Pay in its devices, if Apple ever opened up the mobile payments service to other manufacturers.
"We are platform agnostic," Darren Sng, vice president of product marketing, says of the company's ambitions. That extends beyond just streaming standards, too: if Apple made Apple Pay available to third-party manufacturers, or Samsung did the same with Samsung Pay, the exec says, HTC would jump at the opportunity.

"You wouldn't want credit card companies to determine what you can put in your wallet," Sng points out, "so why would you want a particular vendor to decide what payment you put in your phone?"
The HTC 10 is the company's flagship smartphone for 2016, coming on the heels of last year's HTC One M9 device. Anyone interested will be able to purchase the HTC 10 in May for an unlocked price of $699, and various, undisclosed carrier prices. The phone can be pre-ordered from HTC's website today, and in the United States users will be able to choose from black and silver color options, while other markets will include a third alternative of gold.

Read More: JBL Announces Noise-Canceling Headphones Powered by USB-C

Tags: AirPlay, HTC
[ 130 comments ]


Top Rated Comments

(View all)

Avatar
BeefCake 15
37 months ago

People still buy HTC?


They're one of the best Android phones if not the best from experience...
Rating: 29 Votes
Avatar
MagnusVonMagnum
37 months ago
So much hate from so many for a product that supports an Apple protocol. Amazing. I only wish Apple would support other protocols and standards than just their own. I should be able to use any phone with any video attached device instead of Apple purposely sabotaging their protocols so things like Kodi can't use it anymore.
Rating: 15 Votes
Avatar
sunapple
37 months ago
I honestly didn't know this was possible, but it's kind of awesome!
Rating: 14 Votes
Avatar
William Gates
37 months ago
Is this officially licensed by Apple or is it a reverse engineering type thing? Will it break as soon as Apple changes anything to the protocol?
Rating: 13 Votes
Avatar
PowerBook-G5
37 months ago
Does it use some kind of hack to do this or is to Apple-sectioned? I didn't think they had opened up AirPlay to other manufacturers.
Rating: 11 Votes
Avatar
gaximus
37 months ago
As an Apple user, this is good for me. I wish Android would support all of Apple's open standards. FaceTime would be sweet.
Rating: 9 Votes
Avatar
gaximus
37 months ago

FaceTime isn't open? Apple would never allow that


You are correct, but not about Apple never allowing that. When FaceTime was first announced it was going to be open standard, I just didn't realize it never happened.
http://www.fiercedeveloper.com/story/facetime-open-standard-never-happened/2012-12-06
Rating: 9 Votes
Avatar
12vElectronics
37 months ago
People still buy HTC?
Rating: 8 Votes
Avatar
Nikhil72
37 months ago
Interestingly it's a fully licensed version done with apple's blessing.
Rating: 7 Votes
Avatar
chucker23n1
37 months ago

The Android device will have the ability to wirelessly play audio through devices and speakers that support streaming via Apple's AirPlay feature


Is this licensed? Or do they use a reverse-engineered implementation?

I.e., is Apple OK with this, or will we see a situation similar to when Palm tried to make iTunes "compatible" with the Pre?

[HTC] plans to make its smartphones as feature rich as possible


That's not how product design works. Good luck throwing **** at the wall, though.
Rating: 7 Votes

[ Read All Comments ]