When Apple made its surprise (but smart) announcement that ‘leading television manufacturers’ will be integrating AirPlay 2 into their TV sets, there was good news for existing owners of some Samsung and Vizio models – but not for LG TV owners …
Support was announced for premium TV models from four different brands: Samsung, Vizio, LG and Sony. But there was one crucial difference between Samsung and Vizio on the one hand, and LG and Sony on the other.
Samsung announced that a firmware update would bring AirPlay 2 support to six of its 2018 models: the 4/5/6/7/8 Series, and the QLED models.
Vizio went even further, announcing retroactive support for four of its models in both 2017 and 2018 incarnations: the D, E, M and P Series.
But no such luck with LG or Sony – with their TVs, you only get the feature in 2019 models. And that’s something one LG owner is hoping to change.
Doney den Ouden has started an online petition calling on LG to bring AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support to older premium OLED models.
It certainly seems a reasonable request where it can be achieved via a firmware update. Televisions may not be as expensive as they once were, but premium models are still not cheap – and people normally expect to keep them for a long time. Having to replace a one- or two-year old TV in order to get a feature other brands are offering to existing owners isn’t going to do much for the brand loyalty of LG and Sony owners.
It is entirely possible to add these feature through a firmware update, proven by Samsung which is bringing AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support to at least their 2018 TV models via a firmware update.
LG, show customers of your Premium TVs, and indeed the world, that LG televisions are supported with software updates for multiple years, and thus are a wise investment compared to other brands.
You can sign the petition here, and check out the full list of compatible models here.
