Skip to main content

Google Home app updated with Cast shortcut on Now Playing screen

There are a number of ways to Cast content from your phone to smart devices. The most convenient is when developers integrate the Cast SDK so that controls are built right into the audio or video app. Mirroring your device is another solution, and Google Home 2.14.1 adds shortcuts to make that more apparent.

After updating to the latest version of Google Home for Android, visiting a Smart Display or speaker’s Now Playing screen will reveal a new “Cast my audio” or “Cast my screen” pill at the bottom of the page.

This opens a prompt that explains the existing “Cast to mirror device” capability, with Google warning how your “device is not optimized for casting, so your experience may vary.” On Android 10, you’ll see another system-level warning before preceding to stream any internal device audio or visuals.

In previous versions of the Google Home app, “Mirror device” was only located in the “Account” tab. That menu item is still present, but the new Now Playing shortcut is much more convenient and likely to be spotted by users.

Google is also testing a small tweak where “Add” is no longer a shortcut alongside Call Home, Broadcast, and Routines. Instead, it’s in the top-left corner of the app. This minor change helps declutter the row of colorful icons, but it’s not yet fully rolled out. Google Home 2.14.1 for Android is widely available in the Play Store this afternoon.

 

More about Google Home:

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

You’re reading 9to5Google — experts who break news about Google and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Google on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel

Check out 9to5Google on YouTube for more news:

Comments

Author

Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com

Manage push notifications

notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications
notification icon
We would like to show you notifications for the latest news and updates.
notification icon
You are subscribed to notifications