Earlier this year, Apple, and several other companies, made waves by announcing that AirPlay 2 and HomeKit would be making the leap to smart TVs from the likes of Samsung, Vizio, and Sony.
Since then, the companies have been releasing software updates to their smart TVs to bring support for the features. Now it’s Sony’s turn. As reported today by FlatPanelsHD (via MacRumors), Sony is now rolling out the software update to select smart TV models from 2018 and 2019 to add support for HomeKit and AirPlay 2.
Android 9 is the software update each supported TV is getting starting now. For 2018 models, it’s the Sony A9F and Z9F. Meanwhile, for the 2019 lineup, owners of the Sony A9G, Z9G, X950G, and X850G (55-, 65-, 75-, and 85-inch models) are getting the update as well.
A major software update is scheduled to begin December 2019 for your Android TV,” said Sony. “The software update is being rolled out in stages and may not yet be available for your TV. If you enabled the Automatically check for update feature, a notification will appear on your TV when the update is available.
Interestingly, it sounds like Sony actually added the 2018 models to the update list just recently. In the original report, FlatPanelsHD says that Sony didn’t originally include those models to the update schedule, but decided to add them anyway. So good news for the 2018 model owners out there!
The bad news is that the report indicates that no other Sony-branded smart TVs will be getting the software update, so if you don’t own one of the aforementioned models you probably shouldn’t expect to get AirPlay 2 or HomeKit support.
With AirPlay 2 support, smart TV owners can stream not only video, but also music, photos, and more to the set directly from your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Meanwhile, with the addition of HomeKit, owners will be able to use Siri voice commands and the Home app to control the smart TV.
Good news for (some) Sony smart TV owners! If you own one of these models, have you been looking forward to the arrival of AirPlay 2 and HomeKit?