Hands-On With AirPlay 2 and HomeKit on a Vizio SmartCast TV

[Chocolatemilty]

Watching Apple's moves in this space, transferring Apple TV's functions directly to third party TVs and others to HomePod I believe that there's a good chance that HomePod is going to become the centre of the home, taking over that capacity from the AppleTV.

AppleTV is progressively becoming software rather than hardware. This was confirmed in the renaming of the TV app to Apple TV and the service as Apple TV+. Apple has worked with major TV manufacturers to get AirPlay on all TVs going forward and as we can see here, they're building in depth HomeKit and remote app support and have also announced that the Apple TV will be available on TVs as an app.

Further fitting this strategy is that Apple is downgrading the importance of tvOS' home screen in favour of the Apple TV app. Pressing the Home button on the Siri remote now takes you to the Apple TV app, not to the Home screen. Unlike tvOS, the Apple TV app is self contained which enables it to be easily ported to third party manufacturers.

HomePod has already taken on the task of being a HomeKit hub from the Apple TV. It already plays Apple Music in your home and works as an assistant as well. With Siri Shortcuts, Apple has enabled developers to put their iOS apps on HomePod.

Now, what if it could take commands to play TV shows and movies on a TV? "Hey Siri, play Star Trek Discovery in the living room". Well, it just so happens that in iOS 12.2 Siri on iPhone and iPad became capable of doing exactly that. When the feature comes to the HomePod, you won't really need to have an Apple TV if your TV either supports AirPlay or has the Apple TV app (or both).

In the Fall when AppleTV+ is launched, I expect this strategy to tie up loose ends with perhaps an HDMI AirPlay stick + remote to be released for those without AirPlay enabled TVs or who want to use a tvOS UI and Siri remote with their TVs.

Today's HomePod price cut is another important step to build on this strategy as it becomes the device you purchase instead of an AppleTV and needs to be affordable. The current model Apple TV is $199. At $299 for an Apple TV replacement, a premium speaker and access to thousands of iOS apps via Siri Shortcuts, the HomePod starts to make a lot more sense.

RIP hockey puck Apple TV (sometime this Fall).

While a lot of this does make sense, with Apple's Apple Arcade coming with exclusive titles from studios coming, if it becomes somewhat to definitely a hit for them, they won't stop tvOS development for those titles. Apple still wants a slice of console gaming and they actually made quite a capable little device in the Apple TV 4K for that. I believe Apple is just finally getting smart about the living room and trying to cover all the bases to increase their possible market share with TV+ and the TV app after languishing with the living room for so many years.

 

[ipedro]

While a lot of this does make sense, with Apple's Apple Arcade coming with exclusive titles from studios coming, if it becomes somewhat to definitely a hit for them, they won't stop tvOS development for those titles. Apple still wants a slice of console gaming and they actually made quite a capable little device in the Apple TV 4K for that. I believe Apple is just finally getting smart about the living room and trying to cover all the bases to increase their possible market share with TV+ and the TV app after languishing with the living room for so many years.

I thought of that while writing my post but it was getting long and I thought I'd leave it out unless someone pointed out the gap. That's you

Apple might be getting big into the game business. Gaming is one of the most profitable industries and streaming is about to amplify that. The majority of the App Store's revenue already comes from gaming. It merits Apple's attention.

Apple Arcade seemed almost like an afterthought buried in all the big service announcements, perhaps because all of which except Arcade had leaked months in advance. That's lead to most people underestimating what was announced. It really has the potential to be huge. It needs its own box with a more powerful processor and that ships with a game controller, not a tv remote. We may be seeing an Apple Arcade box in the future.

That said, tvOS apps tend to fit in either movie/tv streaming in which case they belong in the Apple TV app or games which belong on an Apple Arcade box. That leaves very little reason for tvOS to exist as it does today. Using tvOS 12.3 beta, it's clear that the main part of what we consider tvOS has not been updated with the new UI standards that the Apple TV app has adopted.

HomePod can take over the remaining functions and what doesn't fit in that paradigm will work through AirPlay from iPhones, iPads and Macs. An HDMI AirPlay stick could come with a slimmed down tvOS with the AppleTV app as its home screen but able to run other apps like YouTube and Netflix but not games that would require a more substantial box with powerful graphics and CPU.

Whatever the case, Apple has been shuffling the AppleTV chess pieces quite a bit this year. Things are absolutely going to change. Giving third party TVs and streaming boxes AirPlay and AppleTV+, and lowering the price of the HomePod looks very much to me like Tim Cook thinking several moves ahead while people on MacRumors scream and point that the end is near.

 

[RomanEmpire]

So, this means I will have more features (adding the TV to Homekit, turning it ON/OFF, changing volume, channel and input, etc.) with a 3rd party product compared to Apple's own Apple TV?
Bravo, Apple!

 

[biggest father1]

How is it a Vizio TV can be controlled in HomeKit. But my Apple TV cannot. All I want to be able to do is turn it off.

And setting up an automation for all Apple TV’s turn off when everyone leaves the house which would also turn the tv off using CEC! That’s a feature I’d really like to have.

 

[zombierunner]

I will never purchase anything from LG again.

 

[DoctorTech]

I will never purchase anything from Vizio. Last year they lost a lawsuit over spying on what their customers were watching via cable, DVD, streaming, etc. and selling viewing habits along with personally identifiable information to marketing companies.

https://www.ocbj.com/news/2018/oct/05/vizio-reaches-17m-settlement-tv-spying-lawsuit/

 

[iName]

Hurry up Samsung!

 

[Worldspinning]

How is it a Vizio TV can be controlled in HomeKit. But my Apple TV cannot. All I want to be able to do is turn it off.

I think it may be because the Apple TV is a HomeKit Hub and turning that off would stop HomeKit from working correctly.

 

[H3LL5P4WN]

From MR's description, this actually sounds really, really useful. I'm glad that I never pulled the trigger on a bigger TV over the last couple years' black fridays/superbowl sales.

 

[smithrh]

I will never purchase anything from Vizio. Last year they lost a lawsuit over spying on what their customers were watching via cable, DVD, streaming, etc. and selling viewing habits along with personally identifiable information to marketing companies.

https://www.ocbj.com/news/2018/oct/05/vizio-reaches-17m-settlement-tv-spying-lawsuit/

Yep.

There's a reason TV manufacturers are wanting HomeKit - it's to entice you to add your TV to your network so they can upload your usage & habits.

Also, this fun little thing Android TV (Google) just pulled:

https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/5/1...ony-tv-nvidia-shield-xiaomi-sponsored-channel

 

[gaximus]

I think it may be because the Apple TV is a HomeKit Hub and turning that off would stop HomeKit from working correctly.

Nope, I turn off my Apple TV every time I leave the house and can still use all my stuff, it doesn't actually turn it off, just puts it in sleep mode, but it does turn off my TV, which is what I really want.

 

[joemolomo]

The best thing is being able to run automation based on your tvs power status, so you can use your original remote to activate scenes.

 

[outskirtsofinfinity]

Not clear from your comments if you want the update or not. It's not as though you are forced to use the apps. Regardless, according to this page "VIZIO Smart TVs receive Firmware Updates automatically."


You live in Canada, and the website for Vizio uses geolocation, so your request is redirected to the en-ca version of the page, which does not exist.

It's good to hear that AirPlay 2 support will be installed automatically when the time comes. Thanks for the response.

 

[zengod]

Surprised any manufacturer is bothering with Homekit - I bought a lot of stuff a few years back thinking it would be worth the effort but Apple have dragged their heels so long on Homekit development that I gave up and have been replacing it all with Google aware stuff which is far more useful. Apple need to just drop Homekit and integrate Google/Alexa into IOS and whilst they are at it give up on Siri as well and concentrate on what they are good at and realise that if something is better and becoming an industry standard to jump on board with that than continue flogging that dead horse even more.

 

[LordVic]

Good to see how well it works on 3rd party devices. Good move by Apple opening up the AirPlay options.

Questions:
1. Does AirPlay2 support still require you to have an iOS device to use?
2. Will Apple's new TV service be available for non-iOS users or like the HomePod, will an i-device be a requirement?

 

[the johnmc]

Yesss! Wtf. I can turn my Vizio tv on with HomeKit now but not my APPLE tv?

You can. I do it all the time with a Shortcut.

 

[MysteriousStain]

This is so logical and easy, how did the current Apple come up with it?

 

[Craiger]

You can. I do it all the time with a Shortcut.

I consider that a hack. There's no good reason my Vizio TV has better Homekit functionality out of the box than my Apple TV. It's an embarrassment for Apple.

 

[robbysibrahim]

The best thing is being able to run automation based on your tvs power status, so you can use your original remote to activate scenes.

I've anticipated and have been more excited about AirPlay 2 on Vizio than any of the last half-dozen announcements from Apple. And the automation examples I've read in this thread have just made it more exciting! Can't wait for my invite.

 

[the johnmc]

I consider that a hack. There's no good reason my Vizio TV has better Homekit functionality out of the box than my Apple TV. It's an embarrassment for Apple.

Sure there is. The Vizio TV was just released. It's a brand-new implementation and a much more simplistic wake command. tvOS will most likely gain this functionality in a future release.

 

[KUKitch]

Yesss! Wtf. I can turn my Vizio tv on with HomeKit now but not my APPLE tv?

Yeah, a real shocker that a new product/software release has additional functionality over an older one...

That said, it certainly wouldn’t be surprising if future tvOS has similar support.

 

[alexargo]

Yesss! Wtf. I can turn my Vizio tv on with HomeKit now but not my APPLE tv?

I'm surprised this doesn't work for so many people. I have two Vizio TVs, a 2018 P-Series and a 2013 one. I can turn both of them off via the AppleTV (Long press the home button in the app or physical remote, and you get a dialog to put the AppleTV and any connected devices to sleep). It works perfectly with HDMI CEC. I tend to have issues with volume control not working with HDMI CEC on my 2018 P-Series. It will only control volume via IR for the TV, not via HDMI CEC.

My 2013 Vizio TV with an "AppleTV HD" and a Samsung sound bar works with all the HDMI CEC things. It is somehow the holy grail of HDMI CEC that happens to only work with all my 2013-2015 technology. I control the volume of the Samsung sound bar via the Vizio TV from the AppleTV. For whatever reason it seems like we have regressed on this front in the past couple years.... or I was just super lucky with this combo of devices.

 

[RomanEmpire]

I'm surprised this doesn't work for so many people. I have two Vizio TVs, a 2018 P-Series and a 2013 one. I can turn both of them off via the AppleTV (Long press the home button in the app or physical remote, and you get a dialog to put the AppleTV and any connected devices to sleep). It works perfectly with HDMI CEC. I tend to have issues with volume control not working with HDMI CEC on my 2018 P-Series. It will only control volume via IR for the TV, not via HDMI CEC.

My 2013 Vizio TV with an "AppleTV HD" and a Samsung sound bar works with all the HDMI CEC things. It is somehow the holy grail of HDMI CEC that happens to only work with all my 2013-2015 technology. I control the volume of the Samsung sound bar via the Vizio TV from the AppleTV. For whatever reason it seems like we have regressed on this front in the past couple years.... or I was just super lucky with this combo of devices.

He is talking about doing all this with homekit, not the actual remote or remote-app

 

[richwiss]

Does Airplay 2 allow 4K mirroring from an iPad Pro?

 

[Jarrodbcall]

I have been enjoying the Airplay 2/ Homekit integration so far, but am trying to figure out an issue with the volume I wanted to get your thoughts on. I am able to control the TV volume via the control center remote (yay!), but have a sound bar attached. Is there a setting or way to have the TV pass the volume control to the sounder so it could all be controlled via the iPhone? Thanks!