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

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.

vizio smartcast tvs airplay 2 homekit
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.

Popular Stories

apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
top stories 2025 07 12

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, iOS 26 Beta 3, and More

Saturday July 12, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
The iOS 26 public beta release is quickly approaching, while developers have recently gotten their hands on a third round of betas that has seen Apple continue to tweak features, design, and functionality. We're also continuing to hear rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup that is now just about right around the corner, while Apple's latest big-budget film appears to be taking off, so read on...

Top Rated Comments

joshwenke Avatar
85 months ago
This is the start of Apple completely changing its business model...
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mattopotamus Avatar
85 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.
[doublepost=1546872397][/doublepost]
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.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bbednarz Avatar
85 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.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ipedro Avatar
85 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.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
truthertech Avatar
85 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.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bbednarz Avatar
85 months ago
HomeKit and AirPlay 2 looks to be rolling out to a lot of things this year. Very good to see. Especially HomeKit.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)