Chromecast owners see double with Android mirroring

Jane McCallion Read more July 10, 2014

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An update to Chromecast will allow users to mirror what’s on their smartphone or tablet to their television.

Chromecast, which landed in the UK in March, is a Wi-Fi enabled HDMI dongle that plugs directly into a user’s TV, letting them stream audio and video content from the internet or local network.

Version 1.7 of the Chromecast app lets users “cast” their screen to the streaming dongle when both are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. The update is expected to be rolled out in the next few days.

Ambarish Kenghe, Chromecast product manager, suggested the feature could be used to “share photos stored on your phone with a group of friends, or scope out the scenery for your next family vacation together on the big screen”.

Currently, screen “casting” is only supported by a handful of Google Nexus, Samsung, LG, and HTC handsets, although the company promises support for other Android devices will be available soon.

Chromecast is part of a two-pronged attack on the living room being staged by Google, the other being Android TV.

Unveiled at Google I/O in June, the Android TV platform allows users to stream games and audio-visual content as well.

However, unlike Chromecast, Google has no role in the hardware for Android TV, with the service being built into set-top boxes made by companies such as Sony and Sharp.