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Watch LG’s CES press conference in 8 minutes
Considering LG began its CES hype campaign in early December, the company's obscenely early press conference today -- the first of the show -- was unexpectedly short and sweet. LG is committed to releasing a 5G smartphone this year, and promises its ThinQ AI home appliances will get progressively smarter, suggesting how to better manage your home rather than just blindly obeying your conversational commands. LG also gave an appropriate amount of airtime to HomeBrew, its new capsule-based craft beer system for nurturing easy, homemade batches.
Vizio's SmartCast will work with Apple AirPlay 2 and HomeKit this year
Part of Vizio's big news for CES 2019 is the reveal of SmartCast 3.0. This edition of its smart TV platform's big addition is support for Apple AirPlay 2, as well as enhancements for tie-ins with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. The new software is coming to all SmartCast TVs eventually, after a beta test in Q1 of this year before rolling out widely in Q2.
Vizio works on making its 4K TVs even better in 2019
While many other manufacturers chase new technology with 8K and HDMI 2.1, Vizio is enhancing its 4K TV lineup, starting from the lower-priced V series all the way up to its top-of-the-line P-Series Quantum X. The V series steps in where Vizio's E line of TVs used to reside, with smart TV features, Dolby Vision HDR and up to 16 zones of local dimming, with models ranging from 40- to 75-inches.
Samsung's 2019 smart TVs will support iTunes and AirPlay 2
Until now, using Apple's services on your TV has meant... well, buying an Apple TV. No more: Samsung has revealed that its 2019 smart TVs (plus updated 2018 sets) will offer both iTunes Movies and TV shows as well as AirPlay 2 casting. Yes, you can buy or rent videos from iTunes and watch them in 4K HDR glory without buying extra Apple hardware or otherwise bending over backward. The iTunes app will even play nicely with Samsung's ecosystem, too, supporting the Universal Guide, search features and the latest version of Bixby.
Sonos expects to release products faster now that it’s gone public
It's been a busy year or so for Sonos. Since last April, the company has launched three hardware products (the Playbase, Sonos One and Beam), added AirPlay 2 and Alexa support and became a publicly-traded company just yesterday. It's a milestone for any company, but Sonos says its fans shouldn't worry that the pressure of answering to investors will change its music-focused mission. The company's chief product officer Nick Millington told Engadget that Sonos is staying focused on delivering music throughout your home. In fact, the company points to the busy year it had as what we should expect going forward.
AirPlay 2 makes Sonos the best audio option for most iPhone owners
For a long time, Sonos was only capable of streaming music to its speakers through a proprietary app, but that's changed in the last few years. After working with music services like Spotify and Pandora, users can stay in those apps and stream music straight to your Sonos setup. That hasn't been the case if you're an Apple Music user, until now: as of today, Sonos supports Apple's AirPlay 2 protocol. After spending a week or so testing out a beta version of the software, I can say that pretty much all Sonos owners who use iOS devices will get a lot out of this update.
A closer look at Sonos Beam: Smaller, smarter and more connected
Sonos just announced the Beam, a smaller, smarter Playbar. It's all good and well to see it on stage, but what does it sound like? Luckily I just got to spend some time with it to find out -- and on first pass it feels like a winner. Not just for the rich, cinematic sound (which it appears to have) though. The Beam is also an all-around tantalizing prospect: a compact soundbar, Alexa replacement, that could also replace your regular music system. This all-in-one configuration won't be for everyone, but for those without a lot of living space that want to avoid the clutter of multiple speakers, it's definitely appealing.
Sonos is adding AirPlay 2 support to its speakers in July
Smart speaker and home audio company Sonos is holding an event in San Francisco today, and the first bit of news is that AirPlay 2 support is coming in July. As previously announced Apple's latest streaming protocol will work with the Sonos One, Playbase, and Play:5 speakers -- anything older than that won't be supported, unfortunately. The update will come via software update, and it'll let you group together multiple Sonos speakers through Apple's apps. This means you can start up songs in Apple Music and send them directly to Sonos without having to use the dedicated Sonos app.
The CW's free Seed app is now streaming on Amazon Fire TV devices
The CW has just launched its CW Seed app for Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Edition television. The app doesn't require a subscription, there are no added fees and you don't need a cable service provider in order to access its shows. However, you will have to sit through ads and the app doesn't have any currently running series.
Apple brings multiroom speaker support to HomeKit with AirPlay 2
Apple's HomeKit has provided iPhone and iPad users with a simple platform to connect multiple smart home devices, but it's shied away from one of the most important gadgets: speakers. Before revealing the rumored Siri speaker, the company announced today that it's expanding its smart home hub to support a large number of third-party audio hardware.
YouTube TV now works on Apple TV over AirPlay
If you're the rare YouTube TV subscriber who finds yourself stuck in an Apple household, there's good news for you. The streaming TV service's iOS app just got upgraded with AirPlay support, giving you a quick way to shoot whatever you're watching over to an Apple TV. Sure, an actual Apple TV app (or really, any streaming box app) would be nice, but it'll likely be awhile before Google gets those out. That's a shame, since competing TV services from Sling, DirecTV and Hulu all have apps of their own. At least Youtube TV subscribers aren't just stuck using Chromecasts to get their big screen fix.
Google Photos for iOS beams images to your TV with AirPlay
Google has been improving its Photos app for a while now, adding features like automatic white balance, compensation for wobbly video, social photo editing tools and even improving Apple's own Live Photos. The one thing it's been missing, however, is the ability to send your photos and videos to an Apple TV right from the app using AirPlay. That's been remedied, though, with a new update that's available to download right now from the App Store.
Stream from your Android device to an Apple TV with an $8 app
Non-Apple-device Airplay streaming to Apple TV effectively died when Apple pushed tvOS 10.2 into the world. But the folks who enabled it in the first place, doubleTwist, have returned to fix that. "We went ahead and added support for Apple's new pairing process in the latest doubleTwist Pro release because we believe the era of walled gardens is long gone," a post on the developer's blog says. Meaning, if you didn't already have the premium app, all it'll cost to get FLAC files from your Android device to your Apple TV is a spare $8/£8. Handy!
Urbanears built AirPlay and Chromecast into its WiFi speakers
The last time we covered Urbanears, the company was hawking headphones with quilted padding. Now, some six years later it's getting into the crowded wireless speaker game. Long story short, the Connected Speakers are colorful noise boxes that you can network together for multi-room sound; you can set them to play the same track in sync, or separate ones. Each unit has Airplay, Chromecast and Spotify Connect capabilities built in too, so blasting Papa Roach's "Last Resort" from every room while you're trying to argue for an unpopular rule-change at your house should be pretty easy. If you want to kick it old-school beyond your song selection, there's Bluetooth connectivity and an aux port too.
B&O's Beoplay M5 wireless speaker has a lot of competition
Bang and Olufsen revealed its pricey Beoplay A6 wireless speaker back in 2015. Here at CES, the company has a new model that also handles multiroom audio. The Beoplay M5 projects that trademark B&O sound 360 degrees from a device that's designed to be a showpiece rather than extra clutter. Just like the A6, wool speaker covers are interchangeable so you will have options for what looks best in your home.
Vudu's upgraded mobile app brings offline rental viewing
Unlike some big streaming video services, Vudu isn't sitting on the fence when it comes to offline playback. The Walmart-owned provider has revamped its Android and iOS apps with several big features, most notably an option to download your rentals -- you can watch that movie in mid-flight even when the in-air WiFi is lousy. You'll also have access to movie extras for supporting titles, and iOS users now get both higher-quality 1080p HDX streaming as well as AirPlay. And if you're still attached to hard copies, you can buy discs inside the app instead of heading to the web. So long as you live in the US and like Vudu's à la carte approach to movies and TV, you can check out the upgrade right now.
Bang and Olufsen's 360-degree speakers deliver sound in style
Earlier this week, Bang and Olufsen introduced its BeoSound 1 and BeoSound 2 multi-room speakers, and we just checked them out at IFA 2016. As expected, considering they both cost upward of $1,000 each, the new 360-degree speakers look stylish and unordinary. And while they do resemble Samsung's R wireless speakers, B&O's set is made with more premium materials -- namely "rock solid" aluminum, according to the company. The biggest feature of the BeoSound 1 and BeoSound 2, however, is the fact they can project sound all around you. That, in theory, should make for a more immersive experience when you're listening to any audio.
Bang and Olufsen's new BeoSound speakers project music 360 degrees
Bang and Olufsen typically unveils new audio gear at IFA and this year is no exception. Following last year's $1,000 BeoPlay A6, the company has two new speakers that project sound 360 degrees. The new devices are called BeoSound 1 and BeoSound 2, both sporting a conical design that looks like a base of a lamp more than a speaker. That's not a criticism though, it will actually blend in better on a shelf or side table than a boxy cube typically would. B&O is known for its high-end aesthetics and these new speakers continue the lineage with aluminum shells that project bass out from bottom and are open up top for acoustics.
Whyd is a colorful take on voice-controlled wireless speakers
Just two years ago, Whyd was trying to mix up the music streaming world, with a service that let you collect tracks from around the internet, and put them in one place. Today, it's moving into hardware with a multi-room wireless speaker. Don't worry, if you were into its aggregation service, (as you likely know) it wasn't killed, but made open source earlier this month. Starting today, though, the Whyd brand will live on as a multi-room speaker system.
VNYL's wireless turntable lets your pals follow along on Spotify
Perhaps you've heard of VNYL: the $39 record subscription service that sends you three new albums a month based on your musical tastes. After offering the vinyl aspect of the audio equation, the company is looking to provide the gear you'll need to spin those records, too. TRNTBL (we should've seen this coming), is a belt-driven wireless turntable that connects to your speakers, headphones and other devices via Bluetooth and AirPlay. Despite its claims, the gadget isn't the first wireless turntable, as both ION and Audio Technica have Bluetooth-equipped models of their own.
