Google today announced Google Cast is built into Chrome, allowing anyone using the company’s browser to cast content to supported devices without having to install or configure anything.
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We expected Google to make this move ever since the product launched in 2014 when Google released it with a pretty limited feature set and with support for Chromecast devices only.
The new Google Cast function from Chrome also extends to casting to Hangouts, meaning those presentations can get more interesting as you cast tabs full of presentations, graphs or whatever tickles your fancy.
For webpages that are not integrated with Cast, users will still be able to beam to their screen by selecting Cast from the Chrome menu, as seen below.
Cast has come along way in the past two years, and is now available on third-party hardware include speakers and TV, in addition to Google’s own Chromecast and Chromecast Audio dongles.
Google claims Cast is becoming an integral part of the Chrome experience with 38 million sessions and 50 million hours streamed during the last month.
Web services that implement the Chrome Sender API will be able to alert Chrome browsers about native Cast support.
If you are curious as to all the different ways you can cast from a smartphone, laptop or desktop, check out Google’s updated Chromecast Help page.
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Direct Chrome integration definitely broadens the reach and potential usage rates of Cast, bringing it a step closer to being a seamless transit channel for your digital life.
