Google has been actively working on making its $35 Chromecast a worthwhile component of your home entertainment system and its latest Google Cast for audio is a major step in this aspect as it now allows you to stream music and other content from apps like Pandora and Rdio directly to speakers.
The announcement was made at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas wherein it was also revealed that consumers will be able to buy compatible speakers from brands including Sony, LG and Denon as early as Spring this year. Denon’s new HEOS line of speakers will be the first to get released.
Google Cast for audio is currently supported on Android and iOS and once you have the compatible apps and speakers, all you have to do is tap a button in the app to send the sound to a speaker capable of receiving the signal. Pandora, Rdio, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio and NPR One are some of the apps that support this feature at launch.
As you would have rightly noticed, Spotify is missing from the initial list of supported apps, but Mario Queiroz, a vice president of product management at Google, said the company is working on more partnerships.
One may say that Google Cast for audio sounds a lot like Apple AirPlay speakers, but there is a key difference here. Google cast pulls stuff down from the cloud giving you the best available quality while also allowing you to use your handheld device for other apps.
“Our objective has always been to be much more ambitious than just the Chromecast,” said Rishi Chandra, director of product management for Google Cast reports the WSJ. “We want to define a mobile first experience for how you drive your entertainment devices.”
“We want more and more devices out there,” Chandra added. “This is going to be a big year for Google Cast.”
