Vizio's 2019 4K TVs arrive with promise of AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support
Vizio thinks the P-Series Quantum X can compete with the best TVs on the market.
Vizio has released its 2019 4K TV lineup to the market and announced that Apple's AirPlay 2 and HomeKit will be coming to current and older models. While the company is best known for budget 4K TVs with impressive image quality, this time it's going after the premium market with its flagship P-Series Quantum X. The new 65-inch ($2,200) and 75-inch ($3,500) sets are pricier than you'd expect from Vizio, but feature quantum dot displays with 384 or 480 local dimming zones. That enables black levels nearly on par with OLED displays, but with brightness levels up to 3,000 nits.
You can get the regular 2019 P-Series Quantum in 65- and 75-inch sizes as well, but you'll have to settle for lower brightness levels (1,200) nits and 240 local dimming zones. That reduces the prices considerably, however, to $2,500 and $1,400 for the 75- and 65-inch models.
If you saw "Vizio" in the headline and had something cheaper in mind, then the M-Series might be for you. The 65-inch model still has quantum dot HDR technology, but drops to 600 nits of brightness and 90 local zones for $1,000, while the 55-inch model is $800. If that's still too much, Vizio has a "budget" M-Series lineup with quantum dot HDR, but just 20 dimming zones and 400 nits of brightness. That drops the prices a bit to $900 and $700 for the 65- and 55-inch models. If you don't need a set that big, there are 50-inch ($550) and 43-inch ($400) M-Series models as well.
Finally, there's the entry-level V-Series with no quantum dots and local dimming. However, you still get Dolby Vision and HDR10 at $1,199.99 for a 77-inch model, $600 for the 65-incher and a mere $450 for the 55-inch model (for a complete list of models, go here).
SmartCast 3.0 finally lets you customize the layout of streaming apps, including Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu and others. You can also cast any Chromecast-enabled app to the screen. Vizio said that Apple's AirPlay 2 and HomeKit are coming to Vizio TVs this summer, at which point you'll be able to control them using with Siri, along with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.
