Vizio SmartCast TVs to Gain Support for AirPlay 2 and HomeKit Later This Year

Monday January 7, 2019 6:34 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Vizio today announced that its recent smart TVs will gain support for Apple's wireless streaming protocol AirPlay 2 and smart home platform HomeKit via a free SmartCast 3.0 over-the-air software update later this year.


AirPlay 2 support will allow users to stream videos, music, photos, and more directly from an iPhone, iPad, and Mac to SmartCast-enabled Vizio TVs, complete with lock screen controls. HomeKit support will enable users to easily control the TV using the Home app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac or Siri voice commands.

Vizio says the SmartCast 3.0 update with AirPlay 2 and HomeKit can be tested by registered beta members in the United States and Canada in the first quarter of 2019. The software will be publicly released in the second quarter of 2019 and will also be preinstalled on Vizio's entire 2019 lineup of smart TVs.

The upcoming SmartCast 3.0 update will also add expanded Google Assistant actions for eligible SmartCast TVs. Google Assistant users, for example, will have the ability to use simple voice commands to launch apps, select inputs as well as pause, resume, stop, fast-forward, rewind content, and more.

Amazon Alexa users can also control their TV, and coming later this year, launch apps without lifting a finger, according to Vizio.

Apple recently updated its website with information about how AirPlay 2 and HomeKit will be implemented on smart TVs from "leading TV manufacturers," including Samsung, which is also introducing an iTunes movies and TV shows app that does not appear will be available on Vizio smart TVs at this time.

Tags: HomeKit Guide, AirPlay 2, CES 2019, Vizio
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joshwenke
14 months ago
This is the start of Apple completely changing its business model...
Rating: 12 Votes
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mattopotamus
14 months ago

Oh, man, the Apple TV is going to be so sad when it finds out… :(


I do not know why people keep saying this? It is not like the average consumer updates their TV on a regular basis. The ATV is still way cheaper than buying a new set.
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This is the start of Apple completely changing its business model...


Agreed. It is a very smart move on their part. People are not upgrading hardware like they did 2 years ago.
Rating: 10 Votes
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bbednarz
14 months ago

Apple has always been a tight eco system but unfortunately they are branching out cos they are losing sales this is sad for apple

There is nothing unfortunate or sad about this. The more products that support AirPlay 2 and HomeKit the better.
Rating: 7 Votes
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ipedro
14 months ago
Vizio, Samsung and LG. These TVs represent the vast majority of them in homes today. If AirPlay 2 is on all of them, retroactively by at least a year, suddenly AirPlay becomes ubiquitous. Waiting for the LG announcement now.

Looking at this from a more three dimensional perspective, it opens up a huge opportunity for Apple’s screenless or small screen devices like HomePod and Apple Watch.

If a HomePod can count on having an AirPlay enabled TV nearby, it suddenly becomes a full voice controlled home computer. Remember the A8 chip inside the HomePod? That’s a very powerful chip for something just intent on being a speaker, even a smart one. “Hey Siri, show me my appointments for this week”, HomePod looks for the nearest TV “Would you like me to display it on the Living Room TV”?

Apple Watch itself has the potential to displace iPhone as our main personal computer. As it increases in power and as Siri gets better at recognizing your speech and what you mean using machine learning, it can be a voice first personal assistant on your wrist that can do almost anything that an iPhone can do. Only almost because there are things that require a large sceen to do effectively, such as watching videos or displaying pictures. What if you could count on there always being an AirPlay enabled screen nearby? Well, Apple is making that exact move today.
Rating: 7 Votes
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truthertech
14 months ago

More evidence that Apple is slowly transitioning into a services company. It'll be a slow, possibly bumpy transition, but this is going to be interesting to watch. It's becoming increasingly apparent that they cannot solely depend on hardware dominance moving forward.



"Slow, bumpy transition?" Like most people, because the tech press hasn't talked about much, I think you may be unawares and a few years behind what has been happening. It actually has been an incredibly smooth and amazing trajectory already into becoming one of the leading Services producers among all tech companies.

Recognizing that the iPhone market would eventually slow down, Apple began a major move into services a few years back. When Services was already in the billions in terms of revenue, (and it has been for over two years the fastest growing part of its business,) Apple announced a goal of turning Services into a major component. Apple has been so quietly successful in that goal in the Services arena that folks don't realize that Apple's Service revenue now dwarfs ALL of Facebook's revenue!

Apple's Service revenue now hits a record quarter after quarter and is now over 10 BILLION dollars a quarter, well on pace to smash Cook's goal of $50 BILLION dollars a year in Services revenue by 2020. Indeed, Apple Services, by itself, is now one of the largest tech companies in the world!

While Apple is far beyond the slowly transitioning into Services, it would also be a mistake to assume that Apple is "becoming a services company." Apple will continue to grow it's hardware business and with the tens of billions of dollars Apple is investing into R and D, hardware has a huge upside to be a major driver, if not the major driver, of revenue going forward.
Rating: 4 Votes
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bbednarz
14 months ago
HomeKit and AirPlay 2 looks to be rolling out to a lot of things this year. Very good to see. Especially HomeKit.
Rating: 3 Votes
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jazzsam84
14 months ago

Anyone know where we can register for beta testing?


On Vizio's landing page here: https://www.vizio.com/apple
Rating: 3 Votes
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eatrains
14 months ago

This is the start of Apple completely changing its business model...

Apple has licensed AirPlay audio for years and years and years.
Rating: 2 Votes
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Nunyabinez
14 months ago

What's the big deal about this? Unless your data plan is your only access (i.e. you don't have broadband/cable).
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Ever tried pushing the "on" button on your TV/Cable remote? Works for me every time.


Apparently you didn't understand that it turns on the TV, sets it to the right input, turns on the surround receiver, sets it to the correct input, wakes up whatever device is sending the video and sets up the buttons on the remote so that they control the devices that are active in that scheme. A little more than pressing the on button.

But to address your snark, what was wrong with just hauling a bucket of water in from the well? Ever tried just walking over to the TV and pressing one of the buttons on the side? Works for me every time.

Sheshh, some people.
Rating: 2 Votes
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AngerDanger
14 months ago
Oh, man, the Apple TV is going to be so sad when it finds out… :(
Rating: 2 Votes

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