One app for every TV, or your TV's own app?
Most TV makers have their own iPhone app, and it's often the best way to reach that TV's settings, its maker's account and features no other app can. TVkip is one app for nine TV platforms, built around the remote: Lock Screen, Control Center, Apple Watch and Easy Mode, with no account. Here's what each side does better.
TVkip is an independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by any of the companies named here. App and brand names belong to their owners and are used only to compare. Facts about other apps are from their App Store listings and documentation as of November 2026, and may change.
TV by TV
Each TV maker's app controls that maker's TVs or devices. The last column is the honest part: what the maker's app can do that TVkip can't.
| The TV maker's app | Works with | Apple Watch app | What it does better than TVkip |
|---|---|---|---|
| SmartThings (Samsung) | Samsung TVs, plus Samsung's smart home | Yes | Switches inputs and picture and sound modes, controls the TV away from home through Samsung's cloud, and turns 2024 and later Frames fully off. See Samsung TVs. |
| LG ThinQ | LG TVs, plus LG appliances | Yes | One app for LG's TVs and home appliances, with your LG account. See LG TVs. |
| The Roku app | Roku players and Roku TVs | Yes | Private listening with headphones, and your Roku account's features. See Roku. |
| Google TV | Google TV and Android TV | No | Browse what to watch across your services, with your Google account. See Google TV. |
| BRAVIA Connect (Sony) | Recent Sony BRAVIA TVs | No | Made by Sony for its current TVs and their settings. Sony's older Video & TV SideView app closes on March 30, 2027. See Sony BRAVIA. |
| VIZIO Mobile | Vizio TVs and sound bars | No | Vizio's own setup and settings for its TVs. See Vizio. |
| VIDAA (Hisense) | Hisense VIDAA TVs | No | Full control of 2024 and later Hisense TVs, which accept only Hisense's app; TVkip has basic mode there. See Hisense VIDAA. |
| Amazon Fire TV | Fire TV devices | No | Works with the new Vega OS sticks and needs no developer setting. See Fire TV. |
| Apple TV Remote (Control Center) | Apple TV | Remote app built into watchOS | Built into Control Center on iPhone, with Siri and what's playing. See Connecting an Apple TV for TVkip. |
What one app adds
- Every TV in the house in one place. A Samsung in the living room and a Fire TV stick in the bedroom are one tap apart.
- The same remote on every TV, so nobody has to learn a new layout.
- The Lock Screen and Control Center: a TV Volume widget, every Control Center control, the Action button and the Live Activity, free.
- Apple Watch as a remote for the TV you're using, free, on every platform.
- Easy Mode: big, labelled keys for parents and grandparents.
- iPhone, iPad and Mac.
- No account. TVkip talks to your TVs on your Wi-Fi; nothing goes through a cloud.
- Free for two TVs, with no ads. Pro is optional.
Where the TV maker's app is the better choice
- Setting up a new TV and its maker's account. Use the maker's app or the TV itself.
- Features only the maker can reach: cloud control away from home, the maker's smart home, Samsung input switching, private listening on Roku.
- TVs TVkip can't control: Samsung TVs from 2014 and 2015, Fire TV sticks with Vega OS, and the remote keys of Hisense VIDAA TVs from 2024 on.
- If you have only one TV and are happy with its app, you may not need anything else.
Many people use both: the maker's app for setup, TVkip for the remote they reach for every day.
Limits every app shares
- Netflix and YouTube ignore phone keyboards on many LG and Samsung TVs, whichever app you use. TVkip types through the TV's own keyboard instead.
- Paid streaming apps block screen mirroring from any phone. Open them on the TV.
- Turning a TV on over Wi-Fi needs the TV's wake setting, whichever app sends the signal.