If you remember AirBeamTV, you’d know that it was responsible for the Mirror on the Samsung TVs which came out last year to let Mac users to be able to take advantage of AirPlay Mirroring for sending the display of their computer to Samsung Smart TV. The best part was that they didn’t need Apple TV for that, something which is a must for playing such a gimmick. Now, that same app has been re-launched by that very same developer for use with the latest iOS 11 on iPhone & iPad.
Quite similar to the version for Mac, it usually requires Apple TV for sending videos from your iOS device to TV, but with iOS 11 now available and advanced ReplayKit being added to this mix, Airplay Mirror for Samsung TV app from AirBeamTV now allows everyone with Samsung Smart TV 2012 and later to get the video from the iPhone/iPad to go directly to Samsung TV. Yes, you don’t need any jailbreak to make it all work.
What Made Way For AirPlay Mirror?
At the WWDC 2017, Apple came up with an announcement for extended functionally of its ReplayKit framework. And, according to Demid Borodin from Video Technology, that extended functionality helped them bring their famous Mirror for Samsung TV application to iOS as well. Before iOS 11, there was support for macOS only while now everyone with modern iPhones/iPads will be able to mirror directly to their Samsung TV.
However, just like everything which is technically a hack, some downsides are associated to it as well. First, this thing won’t work for those with not too powerful devices as you really need something powerful for the Mirror to work.
Mirror for Samsung TV only runs on the newer iPhone models – iPhone 6s onwards – all iPad Pro models and the recent iPads that offer support for iOS 11.
Another thing to keep in mind is that there’ll be a bit of delay, anywhere between 1 to 3 seconds, between the video that displays on your iOS device and the one that goes on your Samsung TV. So, this thing won’t work with games. You may not be able to watch any content with DRM in place, and Safari can’t even be used as a possible workaround as the browser doesn’t send audio to TV over a connection.
So, there are some limitations to AirPlay Mirror, obviously, but if you are able to enjoy the experience even only for once, it’s definitely worth the $4.99 price tag. And, remember, you don’t really need Apple TV anywhere in the process either.
If you want to opt for Mac then you can go with the $9.99 macOS version as well.
Download the app right away from App Store. It’s really worth it.