Last month at Google I/O 2014 the company showed off native screen casting with sound for Android. The feature will allow Android users to mirror the entire display of their device to a big screen through Chromecast. Third party solutions have offered this functionality for quite some time now but this is the first time that such a feature comes natively to Android and Google’s $35 HDMI dongle.
We had actually begun seeing hints of this feature early in the year. Some might have thought that the feature would actually come as part and parcel of Android L, the next major release for Google’s mobile platform.
Instead the company has flipped the switch quite early. Select Android devices are now able to cast their display with sound to a TV through Chromecast. These supported devices must be running Android 4.4.1 or higher.
Supported devices include Nexus 4 and Nexus 5 smartphones as well as the Nexus 10 and 7 (2013) tablets. Samsung’s Galaxy S4, S5, Note 3 and Note 10 (2014) are supported while the HTC One M7 makes the list as well. LG G Pro 2, G2 and G3 have also made the list.
The feature is being rolled out in beta stage for these select few devices at the moment, over the coming months no doubt Google will add support for additional devices. Its a good feature to have as it allows users to share pictures, videos and songs without having to deal with wires of any kind. Its also good for playing Android games on a big screen.
In order to access this feature on your device, download version 1.7 of the official Chromecast app from the Google Play Store.
Filed in . Read more about Android and Chromecast.