Going on vacation is always a good time but no matter where you stay, the in-room entertainment systems can often leave a lot to be desired. If you're used to being able to stream all of your favorite shows and movies at home, hotels can often be a rude awakening. But now there's hope after Apple announced that select IHG Hotels & Resorts locations have added support for AirPlay.
The new feature means that anyone with an iPhone or iPad can walk into a room at one of the select locations and quickly and easily share their content on the big screen. The process works in a similar way to how we use AirPlay at home, and it was originally announced at WWDC last year. Now, almost a year later, things are starting to happen.
This announcement means that users can connect to one of the compatible LG hotel TVs in their rooms as well as the hotel's Wi-Fi network without having to fiddle with complicated settings or call down to reception for help. There's even support for pairing multiple devices to a single TV as well, making things much easier for families with kids who might want to watch TV while parents get ready for dinner.
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Apple announced the new availability via a new press release, saying that the new AirPlay feature is about more than just watching your favorite TV shows.
"Starting today, guests staying at select properties from IHG Hotels & Resorts, including Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, Candlewood Suites, and InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, can use AirPlay to privately and securely stream their favorite shows and movies on Apple TV+ and other popular streaming services, listen to personal playlists on Apple Music or other platforms, view vacation photos, practice a presentation, play fun games on Apple Arcade, or get a workout or meditation in with Apple Fitness+ on the big screen in their guest rooms," the press release begins. At rollout, there will be AirPlay support at more than 60 properties across North America.
Getting up and running is easier than you might think as well — all you need to do is scan a QR code to get the ball rolling.
"Users can automatically connect to the compatible LG hotel TV in their guest room and the hotel’s Wi-Fi network by scanning a unique QR code on the screen," Apple explains. "Once connected, guests can share almost anything on the big screen in their hotel room directly from their iPhone or iPad. Guests can also pair multiple devices to the TV, so friends and loved ones traveling together can also enjoy."
Each QR code is unique to the hotel room to make sure that streams are private and Apple says the connection between devices and the TV will be automatically "erased" at check out.
As far as the fingerprint is concerned, Apple says that an iPhone Xs or later running iPadOS 17.3 or later is required, while an iPad (6th generation or later), iPad mini (5th generation or later), iPad Air (3rd generation or later), 12.9-inch iPad Pro (2nd generation or later), 10.5-inch iPad Pro, or 11-inch iPad Pro (1st generation or later) running iPadOS 17.3 or later will do the trick for tablet fans. That should probably cover the vast majority of people, that's for sure.
Anyone looking to check whether their preferred hotel has the new AirPlay connectivity feature can check the full list of locations on the IHG website.
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