Samsung TVs beat Sony to launching Apple TV app and AirPlay 2
HomeKit support is next
In order to be a market leader, you have to act like a market leader and in nearly all categories, despite often times having superior products, Sony acts as anything but a leader. More often than not, Sony, alongside its peers, announces a product that not only comes to market later than the competition (looking at you Xperia 1)
but is severely software restrained. We only need to look back at Sony’s roll out of Dolby Vision in 2017 which was nearly a year late and took multiple firmware updates to nail. The latest to join the fray is once again the TV division which promised support for the new Apple TV app which gives you access to your purchased content on iTunes as well as the new Apple TV+¹, AirPlay 2, and HomeKit² support. So who beats them to the punch? Of course Samsung does. From Patently Apple:
Fully integrated into Samsung’s Smart TV platform, users can simply select the Apple TV app icon to access all of their iTunes movies and TV show purchases and browse more than 100,000 iTunes movies and TV shows to buy or rent, including titles available in 4K HDR, in pristine picture quality. Customers around the world can also subscribe to Apple TV channels within the Apple TV app — paying for only the ones they want — and watch on demand directly in the app. Samsung Smart TV users will be able to enjoy Apple TV+, Apple’s original video subscription service, in the Apple TV app across the same model lines when the service launches this fall. With AirPlay 2-enabled Samsung Smart TVs, customers can now also effortlessly play videos and other content from their iPhone, iPad or Mac directly to their Samsung Smart TV.
The Apple TV app will work seamlessly with Samsung’s Smart TV Services, such as Universal Guide, Bixby and Search, to create a consistent experience across Samsung’s platform.
Seeing how many fewer TVs Sony sells than Samsung (Sony managed to sell 11.3 million units in 2018, down from 12.4 in 2017 which was also down from 2016), you’d think it would be easier for them to get these types of things squared away. After all, Sony sells fewer units and has a much smaller lineup, the perfect advantage which should theoretically allow them to be more nimble, yet we get the opposite. These types of lost opportunities become that much more damaging when you consider that for many, TVs have been more than good enough visually for some time, making unique features a key differentiator. Alas, Sony still doesn’t even mention HomeKit and AirPlay 2 support on their website, indicating that we might be some time away from its release on select 2019 Bravia TVs.
While I’ll save it for another piece, it’s a bit baffling that Sony doesn’t do more to attract Apple consumers who typically are more well off and don’t mind spending money on more premium products.
Update:
Looks like Samsung TVs might not get HomeKit integration but Vizio sets will:
¹ Which launches this fall.
² Which will also launch later this year, likely alongside iOS 13.
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