AirPlay

LG is rolling out its 2021 soundbar lineup with built-in AirPlay 2 support

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 7, 2021

Korean consumer electronics maker LG has launched its soundbar lineup for 2021 with built-in support for AirPlay 2, Apple's device-to-device media streaming technology.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS:

AirPlay 2 is supported across all of LG's 2021 soundbars. Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround systems are also supported. The soundbars work with Google and Amazon assistants as well.

LG's 2021 soundbars have AirPlay 2 built-in

As per the announcement on the LG website, the new soundbars deliver a premium audio experience and convenient control along with eco-consciousness designs and packaging.

“The new lineup offers high-quality audio, easy connectivity, smart functionality and stylish aesthetics with a modern look designed to complement LG’s stunning TVs and works well with any décor,” the company notes.

The 2021 lineup is compatible with Siri, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa for hands-free voice and playback control. With AirPlay 2, Apple customers can stream, control and share their favorite music and other content directly from their iPhone, iPad or Mac.

The new soundbars also support LG TV’s AI Sound Pro feature.

Audio from the TV is played through the soundbar via TV Sound Mode Share, delivering the superior audio processing power of AI Sound Pro on the more capable speakers of the new soundbars. LG’s soundbars now offer all of the same sound modes as its latest TVs, allowing users to easily switch between the soundbar and the TV using the TV remote.

Other notable features of the new 2021 LG soundbar lineup include support for the Dolby Atmos and DTS:X surround audio formats, in addition to Dolby Vision compatibility via 4K pass-through, Meridian Audio tuning and the latest Meridian Horizon technology.

Some of the models are Hi-Res Audio certified for lossless playback at 24-bit/96kHz.

Compared to the original version, AirPlay 2 improves buffering while adding support for multi-room audio and streaming audio to stereo speakers. AirPlay is accessible on iOS, iPadOS and macOS devices through the Control Center, the Home app and the Siri assistant.

Image credit: LG Electronics

The Sonos Roam is now official with AirPlay 2 and $169 price tag

Evan Selleck ∙ March 9, 2021

Earlier this month, a report revealed that Sonos had a new speaker in the works. The Roam is designed to move from one area to the next, rather than sit in one room. And, with that, it's priced to move, too.

The YouTube app no longer works on the third-generation Apple TV, please use AirPlay instead

Christian Zibreg ∙ March 4, 2021

Google has stopped supporting the official YouTube app on the third-generation Apple TV. As a result, customers are advised to use AirPlay as the only option for watching YouTube videos.

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Christian Zibreg ∙ March 2, 2021

Samsung at its virtual Unbox & Discover event showed off its 2021 lineup of TVs, monitors and soundbars, confirming that its rotatable Sero television set will soon pick up support for AirPlay, Apple's device-to-device media streaming protocol. Samsung's implementation of the feature is pretty interesting—When AirPlay 2 is used, switching between portrait and landscape on an iPhone or iPad will affect the orientation of your rotating Samsung screen.

Airplay is now available for Fitness+

Christian Zibreg ∙ February 18, 2021

Apple has made good on its promise to bring proper AirPlay 2 support to the Fitness+ service.

Apple Fitness+ gains AirPlay 2 casting support in iOS 14.5 beta

Evan Selleck ∙ February 2, 2021

Apple seeded the first beta of iOS 14.5 to developers earlier today, and apparently the prerelease software is packed with new features. For instance, Apple Fitness+ is getting a new feature it probably should have had at launch.

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Evan Selleck ∙ December 28, 2020

It has been a bit of a rollercoaster for owners of 2018 LG-branded smart TVs when it comes to AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support. But, months after initially canceling plans to add the new features for older smart TVs, the update is now rolling out.

It appears Apple Fitness+ doesn’t work with AirPlay

Evan Selleck ∙ December 14, 2020

If you have a TV that supports AirPlay, and you planned on using that to display Apple Fitness+ on your big screen, there may be an issue.

Apple’s original HomePod has been jailbroken with checkra1n

Anthony Bouchard ∙ November 19, 2020

When most people think of a jailbreak tool like checkra1n, among the first things that come to mind are iPhones, iPod touches, iPads, and Apple TVs. Interestingly enough, the checkra1n team has shown time and time again that the checkm8 bootrom exploit that powers this particular jailbreak is commanding enough to hack even some of the most arbitrary of things, including Apple’s T2 chip, which resides in a variety of Macs.

On Thursday, we learned that even Apple’s HomePod Smart Speaker devices are susceptible to the checkra1n jailbreak. The news, first shared this afternoon by Twitter user @_L1ngL1ng_, took many avid jailbreakers by surprise:

How to set up Wireless Audio Sync on Apple TV

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ October 14, 2020

If you use AirPlay from your Apple TV to your HomePod, AirPlay speakers, or Bluetooth devices, have you ever noticed that the sound seems out of sync? In just a few minutes, you can set up the Wireless Audio Sync on your Apple TV and solve the problem, here’s how.

Select 4K Roku devices and TVs are getting support for AirPlay 2 and HomeKit this year

Evan Selleck ∙ September 28, 2020

Apple has been expanding availability of AirPlay 2 and HomeKit to other companies for quite some time now. And now Roku-branded devices are officially part of the list.

Check out these 9 new Apple TV features in tvOS 14

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated September 21, 2020

Apple yesterday released the tvOS 14 software update that brings new capabilities and feature enhancements to the company’s Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K digital media players. Some of the big ones you’ve already heard about, such as an expanded Picture in Picture feature and multiuser support for Apple Arcade. With the media's attention focused on the headline-grabbing improvements in iOS 14, we thought you might also want to learn about everything new in tvOS 14 so here it goes...