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

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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.jpg

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.

Article Link: AirPlay 2 and HomeKit Rolling Out to Select Roku Streaming Players and TVs
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/11/roku-rolling-out-airplay-2-homekit/
I have a 2018 43" Roku and am wondering if the update will be available for my tv (I'm at work or I would check it).

This is from a Roku article, but from comments in another forum post it seems like people without the model numbers listed are still being able to update?

View attachment 1659387
 
Just updated my Roku Ultra to 9.4 and the AirPlay option is there now. I tried it on my 5GHz network, but the mirroring freezes up after a few screen swipes on my phone. Looks to me like this is half-baked...

EDIT: Seems to work fine on my TCL Roku TV. Weird.
 
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My TCL 55P605 updated over the weekend and both Airplay 2 and Homekit work perfectly.
 
neek said:
My TCL 55P605 updated over the weekend and both Airplay 2 and Homekit work perfectly.
Click to expand...
We've got 3 TCL Roku TVs in the house with our 55P605 as the oldest and also the only one to not have the update already (two other TVs got the updates a week ago.) Seeing that your unit got the update can give me a bit of relief since I was worried I'd need to keep my homebridge instance using a DIY Roku plugin running just for this one TV.
 
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Oh wow, airplay is the only reason that I have an apple tv hooked up to my roku tv. It was gifted to me; maybe I can now gift it to someone else :)

Edit: Ok, I might have to wait a min to pass on my apple tv. There's a delay of a couple seconds with my macbook pro, and the sound and video aren't synced. It's still really exciting. Guessing this will get fixed over time. Sound and video synced with Iphone XR

TCL49S405 & 2014 13in Macbook Pro
 
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Works great on my Roku 4K sticks, Hisense Roku TVs, and TCL Roku TV. Love that I can throw Apple Music on them and family can AirPlay HBO Max to it now as well (since Roku doesn't support the app still).
 
I have a 55” Hisense Roku and 43” TCL Roku along with the soundbar and they all received the update in the past week or so. All showed up in HomeKit and tested airplay functionality.
 
I was able to update my Streaming Stick+ and AirPlay worked without further configuration (tested with my MBP, no stuttering or issues, just the usual delay of a second or two). This is awesome! Been hoping for this for a long time. Roku continues to be my favorite streaming device, now it's even better.
 
There goes a main selling point for Apple TV. wonder why Apple finally caved on letting AirPlay be on other devices
 
soapropos said:
I have a 2018 43" Roku and am wondering if the update will be available for my tv (I'm at work or I would check it).
Click to expand...

My understanding is that 4K models are supported, 720p and 1080p models are not. This is true for both TVs and boxes/sticks, although the boxes/sticks don't need to be hooked up to a 4K TV to enable it. It's because the 4K devices have hardware HEVC decoding, which is apparently a requirement of AirPlay 2.
 
My Roku TV is connected via Ethernet, but all of my devices are on the same subnet (wired or wireless). AirPlay 2 should still work even if the TV isn't on wireless?
 
Confirmed on my TCL 8-series TV. It was able to playback footage recorded on my iPhone 12 Pro in Dolby Vision which is a nice touch.
 
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seinman said:
My understanding is that 4K models are supported, 720p and 1080p models are not. This is true for both TVs and boxes/sticks, although the boxes/sticks don't need to be hooked up to a 4K TV to enable it. It's because the 4K devices have hardware HEVC decoding, which is apparently a requirement of AirPlay 2.
Click to expand...
Ok, great to know thanks! The roku site listed some model numbers (of which I had none) but I've been seeing other people without those devices post that they got the update so I'm thinking I must be in the clear.
 
Oh hell yeah. I have TCL Roku sets in the lounge and bedroom, both 4K, so fingers crossed they both get this. It'll ease the lack of HBO Max.
 
iGeneo said:
It's about the content.. Apple is not overly concerned with selling AppleTV boxes
Click to expand...
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.
 
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