Australian technology news, reviews, and guides to help you
Australian technology news, reviews, and guides to help you

LG’s 2019 TVs to see Apple TV app, 2018 to come

If you don’t own an Apple TV but wish you had access to Apple’s 4K movie library, LG TV owners might just get that support.

In the age of the smart TV, it’s not unusual to find less need for devices that bring smarts to other TVs.

Between webOS on LG, Tizen on Samsung, VIDAA on Hisense, and Android TV on a number of other televisions, the smart interfaces of the world can certainly provide enough shortcut to let you jump onto streaming services without needing an accessory.

And yet many still turn to devices such as an Apple TV, which not only brings a semblance of smarts, but access to a large library of content, as well.

These days, however, you might not need an Apple TV if you want to partake with Apple’s large 4K Ultra HD library, or even the Apple TV+ streaming service. Recently, Apple has been partnering with companies to bring its services to the smart TV operating systems of major TV manufacturers, starting with the likes of Samsung.

However Samsung’s screens won’t be the only option, and this week, LG has signalled it, too, will have access to the Apple TV app and the Apple TV+ movie streaming service, and not just for new televisions.

LG OLED Signature TV (CES 2020)

While the 2020 LG TVs launched at CES can expect an Apple TV app made available, so too can last year’s TVs, with the 2019 OLED and LED-backlit LCD TVs from LG also getting support of the iTunes movie and TV show library.

LG says the addition will come to all 2019 LG OLED TVs, and quite a few of the Super UHD TVs, too, including the SM81, SM86, SM90, SM94, and SM99 LG TVs. Later in the month, the Apple TV app rollout will continue, with support for the UM69, UM73, UM74, and UM76.

The rollout of the LG TV app on 2019 TVs will also bring AirPlay 2 support as well as Apple HomeKit, while iTunes content in 4K should support Dolby Vision HDR, too.

But what about owners of the 2018 models?

Well, the good news is they’re not being forgotten about either, with the 2018 LG TVs also expecting to see an update later this year, though LG hasn’t said when. If we had to guess, we’d expect possibly around August or September, as it would time nicely with the pre-holiday tech show that is IFA in Germany.

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