Philo is an affordable live TV streaming service with support for a number of devices, including smart TVs, streaming players, phones, tablets and more. However, there are some platforms that are missing support, with game consoles and individual smart TV brands prime examples. Making sure Philo is available on the devices already in the home can help to avoid problems streaming live TV later on.
There are a number of live TV streaming services to choose from, but the price can be a significant hurdle. This is where Philo comes in, considering a subscription currently costs just $20 per month. At this price, Philo is significantly cheaper than Sling TV, let alone AT&T TV, fuboTV, Hulu Live TV and YouTube TV. As a result, Philo a good option for consumers looking for an affordable live TV service.
Of course, Philo’s low price does come with some caveats. Although a subscription does include access to more than 60 channels, some consumers may find the channel lineup is not quite what they are looking for. Likewise, device support can be another major limitation with Philo still not available on quite as many devices as some other services.
Philo supported platforms and devices
Generally speaking, Philo supports a wide number of devices. However, users may find that on some of their devices they are unable to download a dedicated app. Even in these instances, there’s likely to be an option for watching Philo, such as streaming through a browser.
Philo compatible devices:
- Android phones and tablets (5.0 or higher)
- Android TV (5.0 or higher)
- Apple TV (4th generation or later)
- Amazon Fire tablet (OS 5.0 or higher)
- Amazon Fire TV (all models)
- Chrome browser
- Chromecast (2nd generation or later)
- Firefox browser
- iPhone and iPad
- Mac computers and MacBooks (via supported browser)
- Windows PCs and laptops (via supported browser)
- Roku players and TVs (all current models)
- Safari browser
While many popular platforms and devices are included in the list above, there are some notable ones missing. At present, Philo is not available on Samsung TVs without the help of an additional device. In fact, TVs are one of the major sticking points when it comes to streaming Philo.
Watching Philo on a smart TV
Besides the lack of Samsung smart TV support, Philo also currently doesn’t offer a dedicated app for LG or Vizio smart TVs either. Generally speaking, Philo does not offer an app for any specific smart TV brand. However, the service does have apps available for all of the popular operating systems powering many smart TVS.
Philo compatible smart TV platforms:
- Amazon Fire TV
- Android TV
- Roku TV
With Android TV, Fire TV, and Roku platforms supported, many smart TV owners will find they are able to download an app or channel for their respective device. If a smart TV in the home is not powered by any of these operating systems, then Philo subscribers will need to use an additional device, such as a streaming player.
Watching Philo on a streaming player
Streaming players are far and away the most readily supported Philo device category. In fact, most subscribers will find that many of the streaming players in their home will be compatible with Philo, although that might not be the case with some older players.
Philo compatible streaming players:
- Android TV
- Apple TV
- Amazon Fire TV
- Chromecast
- Roku
Similar to smart TVs, with Android TV, Fire TV and Roku alone, many popular streaming players are already able to download the Philo app from the respective app or channel store. However, there are some exceptions here, with older Roku players, as well as Android TV and Fire TV devices running on an older software version, potentially running into problems. That’s not to say they won’t be able to download Philo, but they may encounter performance and/or stability issues.
Besides Android TV, Fire TV and Roku, Philo is also compatible with Apple TV players and Chromecast devices, including Chromecast with Google TV.
More options for watching Philo
In cases where a smart TV or streaming player is not supported, there are some additional options for watching Philo. The easiest is through a mobile device, with a Philo app available to download from the Google Play Store for Android phones and tablets, as well as the App Store for iPhone and iPad models. Alternatively, Philo can also be streamed on Windows PCs and laptops, as well as Mac computers and MacBooks. However, unlike with Android and iOS mobile devices, streaming on a Windows or macOS device is not possible through a dedicated app. Instead, users will need to access Philo and watch live TV through a supported browser.
Philo compatible web browsers:
- Apple Safari
- Google Chrome
- Mozilla Firefox
While the mobile and web browser support should fill in many of the device gaps in the home, one problematic device category is game consoles. At present, Philo is unavailable to stream on all Microsoft Xbox consoles, as well as Sony’s PlayStation 4 and 5.
Philo device support summary
Philo can be watched on a number of smart TVs, streaming players, mobile devices, computers and laptops. In some of these cases, such as computers and laptops, there won’t be an app available although users can stream Philo through a compatible web browser. With Android TV, Fire TV and Roku apps available, many consumers should find they are able to fairly easily download Philo and watch live TV.
However, there are a number of devices still missing Philo support. This includes Samsung smart TVs, as well as LG and Vizio models as well. In addition, all Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation game consoles are also lacking Philo device support. Of course, device support for any streaming service is always a work in progress and while some devices are currently lacking support, that doesn’t mean Philo won’t add them in the future.
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