AirPlay 2 and HomeKit Available on 2020 Toshiba and Insignia Fire TVs

Apple's AirPlay 2 and HomeKit features have been rolling out to a number of smart TVs, and as of today, the functionality is available on 2020 Toshiba and Insignia 4K UHD Smart Fire TVs.

insignia fire tv
‌AirPlay‌ 2 is designed to allow iPhone, iPad, and Mac users to stream content to an AirPlay-compatible device, and with built-in support in Toshiba and Insignia TVs, an Apple TV is not required to use ‌AirPlay‌ 2.

‌AirPlay‌ 2 also works across multiple devices for a whole home audio experience, and can be used for streaming TV shows, music, photos, and more to the television set.

With ‌HomeKit‌, smart TV owners can control their television through Siri voice commands or through the Home app on ‌iPhone‌, ‌iPad‌, or Mac. ‌Siri‌ and the Home app can be used to turn the TV on or off, adjust the volume, and switch the TV input to another device.

To use ‌HomeKit‌, the TV needs to be added as a ‌HomeKit‌ accessory, which can be done by going to the Settings menu on the TV, selecting Display and Sounds, and choosing the ‌AirPlay‌ and ‌HomeKit‌ option. From there, instructions are available on the setup process.

‌AirPlay‌ and ‌HomeKit‌ are available on the Toshiba 4K UHD Smart Fire TV with Dolby Vision (2020 model) and the Insignia 4K UHD Smart Fire TV (2020 model).

Popular Stories

28 years later iphone 1

Filmmakers Used 20 iPhones at Once to Shoot '28 Years Later'

Friday May 30, 2025 7:27 am PDT by
Sony today provided a closer look at the iPhone rigs used to shoot the upcoming post-apocalyptic British horror movie "28 Years Later" (via IGN). With a budget of $75 million, Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later will become the first major blockbuster movie to be shot on iPhone. 28 Years Later is the sequel to "28 Days Later" (2002) and "28 Weeks Later" (2007), which depict the aftermath of a...
iPhone 17 Pro Blue Feature Tighter Crop

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Tuesday May 27, 2025 9:10 am PDT by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of May 2025: Aluminum frame: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models have a titanium frame, and the iPhone X ...
maxresdefault

No iOS 19: Apple Going Straight to iOS 26

Wednesday May 28, 2025 11:56 am PDT by
With the design overhaul that's coming this year, Apple plans to rename all of its operating systems, reports Bloomberg. Going forward, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, and visionOS will be identified by year, rather than by version number. We're not going to be getting iOS 19, we're getting iOS 26. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. iOS 26 will be accompanied by...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

iPhone 17 Display Sizes: What to Expect

Thursday May 29, 2025 11:38 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 17 lineup will include four iPhones, and two of those are going to get all-new display sizes. There's the iPhone 17 Air, which we've heard about several times, but the standard iPhone 17 is also going to have a different display size. We've heard a bit about the updated size before, but with most rumors focusing on the iPhone 17 Air, it's easy to forget. Display analyst Ross...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

6 visionOS-Inspired Design Elements Coming to iOS 26

Friday May 30, 2025 3:26 pm PDT by
With iOS 26, macOS 26, tvOS 26, and watchOS 26, Apple is planning to debut a new design that's been described as taking inspiration from visionOS, the newest operating system. With WWDC coming up soon, we thought we'd take a closer look at visionOS and some of the design details that Apple might adopt based on current rumors and leaked information. 1. Translucency Inside Apple, the iOS 26...
iphone 16 teal

iPhone 17 Base Model Now Said to Feature A18 Chip and 8GB of RAM

Friday May 30, 2025 11:07 am PDT by
The latest rumored specs for the iPhone 17 base model are underwhelming. In a research note with equity research firm GF Securities this month, Apple analyst Jeff Pu said that the lowest-end iPhone 17 model will be equipped with the same A18 chip that is used in the iPhone 16 base model. The chip will continue to be manufactured with TSMC's second-generation 3nm process, known as N3E, he...
iOS 26 Mock Rainbow Feature

With iOS 18 Jumping to iOS 26, Will Apple Renumber iPhones Too?

Thursday May 29, 2025 1:59 pm PDT by
With the next-generation version of iOS and other 2025 software updates, Apple is planning to change its numbering scheme. Rather than iOS 19, which would logically follow iOS 18, Apple is instead going to call the update iOS 26. Apple plans to use 26 across all of its platforms (the number representing the upcoming year), which will presumably be less confusing than having iOS 19, macOS 16,...

Top Rated Comments

name99 Avatar
51 months ago

This is real differentiation. I am shopping now and Airplay 2 was a requirement. I hope the implementation is easy.
I suspect you'll be much happier, overall, if you get the TV you want based on picture/sound quality and run it 100% with Apple TV attached on HDMI1 (meaning the AirPlay 2 feature is irrelevant; just AirPlay to the aTV)
As an experiment I tried using apps like Prime on my LG and the whole experience was just awful compared to sticking with aTV all the time.

The HomeKit is mildly useful insofar as you can hook it up (at least I do) to auto power down the TV when I leave home, then restart it when I return; but even that can be done just as well using a SmartPlug, which was what I used to do before the LG.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jammyb Avatar
51 months ago

I suspect you'll be much happier, overall, if you get the TV you want based on picture/sound quality and run it 100% with Apple TV attached on HDMI1 (meaning the AirPlay 2 feature is irrelevant; just AirPlay to the aTV)
As an experiment I tried using apps like Prime on my LG and the whole experience was just awful compared to sticking with aTV all the time.

The HomePlay is mildly useful insofar as you can hook it up (at least I do) to auto power down the TV when I leave home, then restart it when I return; but even that can be done just as well using a SmartPlug, which was what I used to do before the LG.
This. Don’t pick a telly on it’s smart features. Buy the TV with the best PQ you can afford.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jimbobb24 Avatar
51 months ago
This is real differentiation. I am shopping now and Airplay 2 was a requirement. I hope the implementation is easy.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
name99 Avatar
51 months ago

I don't have an Apple TV myself, only asking because I am considering buying one for Airplay and potentially a bit of gaming, and hoping to get my moneys worth! But thanks for getting back to me.
Ah, OK.

My experience with AirPlaying to the aTV is
- it's not something I have done often
- only with video, never had a reason to do it for music
- the "technical" side has always been fine. Video has been at the quality level I expected, no dropouts I consider unreasonable.

BUT

- at the "protocol" level AirPlay sucks. Specifically it won't hold onto a connection for a long time. The way I watch content is very sporadic -- while I am eating, while I am doing chores like ironing, while I am exercising. This means I watch 5 minutes, pause, and start watching again a day later. This is a horror story for AirPlay, which forgets the connection after, I don't know, 15 minutes? And the sorts of sites where you are forced to use AirPlay because theyd on't offer a decent app are the same sites that lose your place when that AirPlay connection ends.

So, FOR MY USE CASES, AirPlay is something I only resort to under the most dire situations.
If YOUR use is something more like "start the movie, watch for 90 minutes till it is finished, end the movie; maybe with one 2 minute pee break" it might be fine.

Overall I am REALLY happy with aTV. I bought my first one as an experiment a few years ago, and somewhat expected I might be returning it to the Apple store (remember you get two weeks return, no questions asked). But it was an experiment that turned out really well!
But I neither game nor use AirPlay. For me, I use it as the UI for my TV, the way to watch
- Prime and aTV+ (TV+ free for now based on recent Apple purchases :-))
- Hoopla and Kanopy (free video services from my library)
- Tubi (IMHO the best by far of the free ad-supported streaming services)
- Peacock (free version)
- Channels DVR (Live TV if you care, and Live TV recording which is what I use, to my mac mini)
- Infuse (local content stored on the mac mini)

Point is, I can get all the content I want (local, live, streaming) via a single UI that I've found far more satisfactory than alternatives. But if you are happy with alternative UI's (built into your TV? Roku box?) aTV may not offer anything much beyond that? I can say that the aTV UI is ridiculously fluid and performant, whereas the alternatives I've tried seem slow and occasionally stuttery, and that's part of the package of "this just feels nicer" than I'm happy to pay for.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)