AirPlay 2 and HomeKit Rolling Out to Select Roku Streaming Players and TVs

by

Roku today announced that AirPlay 2 and HomeKit are now rolling out to select streaming players, including the Roku Ultra, Roku Streambar, Roku Smart Soundbar, Roku Streaming Stick+, and Roku Premiere, as part of a free Roku OS 9.4 update. The software update is also in the process of rolling out to select Roku-based 4K TVs from brands like TCL.

roku airplay
AirPlay 2 enables users to stream videos, music, podcasts, and more directly from an iPhone, iPad, or Mac to a Roku-connected TV, with no Apple TV box necessary. And with HomeKit support, users can control the TV's power and and more using the Home app and Siri on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, or HomePod.

The software update began rolling out earlier this month for some users and should be available on all supported Roku devices within the coming days.

Tags: AirPlay 2, HomeKit Guide, Roku

Top Rated Comments

Chazzle Avatar
Chazzle
45 months ago

Forgive my ignorance if I missed this detail, but will this allow the TV to also output audio via AirPlay 2?
Yes, works great. I can even play music thru my HomePod and sound bar that’s hooked up to my roku tv and it plays perfectly in sync.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Senseotech Avatar
Senseotech
45 months ago

It's about the content.. Apple is not overly concerned with selling AppleTV boxes
I also suspect that for many, myself included, we're willing to pay a premium for an additional box that's independent of the TV and its OS/upgrade cycle and that has that familiar Apple "feel" to it. I've never been a fan of Roku's clunky interface and "channel" model where everything feels slow; having my TV in Homekit and with AirPlay 2 directly is nice, but I'm still going to buy the next AppleTV device for the interface, ease of use, and overall ecosystem, and I suspect there's a sufficient number of people like me to where its not an EITHER OR scenario.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
whyamihere Avatar
whyamihere
45 months ago
My TCL 55R617 said it checked for an update earlier today but was still on 9.3. I did a manual update check and sure enough, there was 9.4. AirPlay works great!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
alent1234 Avatar
alent1234
45 months ago

There goes a main selling point for Apple TV. wonder why Apple finally caved on letting AirPlay be on other devices
because everyone else was going to have some casting ability from a phone to a tv and it would be stupid if their $1300 phone couldn't cast to a TV without an additional $150 box
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rumormiller Avatar
rumormiller
45 months ago
I don't think it's available in the UK. My Streaming Stick+ has updated to 9.4.0 yet no Airplay.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Packers1958 Avatar
Packers1958
45 months ago

My understanding is that it does work on an AppleTV if you have it set to always output DolbyVision which is not ideal.
It actually isn't real DV. It's not taking the raw DV file from the phone and displaying it as DV. It first converts it back to SDR, and then displays it as DV. So you are not getting the full bt2020 color gamut, but instead a rec709 color gamut converted to bt2020. So it will not look correct.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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