Google has released its official Chromecast app for iOS today, allowing Apple mobile devices to officially control the HDMI accessory. The app allows for functionality such as managing Chromecast settings for changing the name, password, and settings of the device, as well as allowing setup of the Chromecast through an iOS device. The app also allows users to stream content from iOS apps, including YouTube and Netflix.

chromecast

Chromecast is the easiest way to enjoy online video and anything from the web on your TV. Plug it into any HDTV and control it with your existing smartphone, tablet, or laptop. No remotes required. Cast your favorites from YouTube, Netflix, Google Play Movies and Google Play Music and Chrome to your TV with the press of a button.

Originally announced and released in July, Chromecast allows for functionality similar to AirPlay and Apple TV, allowing users to mirror content from a tablet, smartphone, or computer. Following the launch of Chromecast, Apple lowered the price of its refurbished Apple TVs to $74, offering a $24 discount off of its intended $99 price. Additionally, a comparison chart between Chromecast, Apple TV, and media device Roku surfaced to examine the differences between all devices.

Google’s Chromecast app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

superwoman Avatar
148 months ago

...Chromecast allows for functionality similar to AirPlay and Apple TV, allowing users to mirror content from a tablet, smartphone, or computer.

This statement is false. That's not how Chromecast works at all.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Phazer Avatar
148 months ago
Just in time!

Google blocks Chromecast app that let you stream your own videos (http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/25/4657202/google-blocks-chromecast-app-that-let-you-stream-own-videos)

Not read the update at the bottom of the article, huh?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
musika Avatar
148 months ago
Just in time!

Google blocks Chromecast app that let you stream your own videos (http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/25/4657202/google-blocks-chromecast-app-that-let-you-stream-own-videos)

EDIT: I just read the update at the bottom of the article, and it doesn't seem that Google is interested in limiting the types of content you can use with the Chromecast.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
The Phazer Avatar
148 months ago
I read the update--And the fact remains Google intentionally blocked the local content workaround at the moment.

"Intentionally blocked" is a pretty different thing from "was indifferent about breaking something acting against the terms of what is clearly marked as an unfinished SDK."

Anyway, this app - surely this is irrelevant to actually casting to a Chromecast? The app wouldn't be able to affect what YouTube or Netflix did inside their apps.

It's just the settings app, yeah?
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Exotic-Car Man Avatar
148 months ago
For those unsure how Chromecast works. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=TK4u6wm-HIk&hd=1)
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
benpatient Avatar
148 months ago
I read the update--And the fact remains Google intentionally blocked the local content workaround at the moment.


You don't seem to know what the words "fact" or "intentionally" mean.

If I released an unsupported iOS app that relied on an unlisted testing feature in OS X Mavericks that was removed or rewritten during the developer preview, you wouldn't be dogging Apple for anything, you'd be saying "well, what did they expect? it wasn't even an approved feature, and it wasn't made for that purpose!"

This is the same thing, only the developer reverse-engineered Google's proprietary code to enable the work-around. That's not a reliable solution for anything. It's possible that all they had to do to "break" his code is to recompile the source a slightly different way, or standardize the name on a couple of functions, or merge a couple of code libraries that were redundant.

We have no idea, but it is transitional, early code, and they said as much right from the start. Google isn't known for malicious coding. It isn't worth the investment of developer time, and it isn't worth the potential backlash. This is a company whose major products are all free.

----------

Chromecast isn't able to receive streamed data directly from any device, so AirPlay would be hard.

Chromecast is actually running a simplified version of Chrome OS, i.e. a Google Chrome browser on a chip that you give commands to.

For example, to play a YouTube clip, the app actually tells Chromecast to "Visit YouTube and play this clip at this address". No video is sent from your device! That's why it can do Netflix, YouTube, or mirror a Google Chrome tab (it simply visits the page for you), but why AirPlay would be hard and probably also suffer in quality since it'd need to stream AirPlay via some proxy website. It can show anything that Chrome can show easily, but everything else is hard or impossible. It'll probably never be able to mirror an iPad display.

Chromecast has unofficial PC desktop mirroring support, but I assume this one uses some proxy method, so that your desktop (grabbed by the local Google Chrome) is sent somewhere on the web, and Chromecast retrieves it from there. If this method doesn't support audio, that would explain why this experimental feature indeed doesn't mirror audio along with the screen.

Not quite right, there. When you cast a Chrome tab, it doesn't go and pull that content from the internet directly via the Chromecast. That wouldn't be possible on things like websites that require authentication. It is casting directly from your local device (laptop, for example), and sending that info (audio and video) to the Chromecast directly.

I can Cast my work email, which won't even let me log in to two browser sessions at once using two different browsers or two windows of the same browser. It's legitimately like "screen sharing", and there is experimental support for screen sharing, as well. That isn't going out to the internet and coming back to the chromecast. It's staying on the local network.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...