Google Cast has become a reflex for millions of users worldwide. This technology, integrated into most recent TVs, connected speakers and soundbars, makes it effortless to send music, videos and photos from a smartphone, tablet or computer. Much more than just an add-on feature, Google Cast is now an essential standard in home entertainment, often confused with Chromecast, Google’s small HDMI box. To fully understand what it can do and how to use it on a daily basis, it helps to go over the basics.
What is Google Cast for?
Google Cast is based on a simple idea: instead of projecting content directly from your mobile device, it delegates playback to the connected TV, amp or speaker. In concrete terms, when you press the Cast logo in a compatible app, the destination device connects directly to the streaming service to play the video or music. Your phone then becomes a remote control, rather than the main player.
This has several advantages. Firstly, it frees up your smartphone: you can continue surfing the web, sending messages or even leaving the room without interrupting the stream. Secondly, it ensures greater stream stability, as the TV or speaker retrieves content directly over Wi-Fi. Finally, it delivers better quality, by exploiting the hardware capabilities of the target device, such as 4K HDR compatibility on TVs or advanced audio decoding on AV receivers.
Don’t confuse Google Cast and Google Chromecast
One of the points that often leads to confusion is the difference between Google Cast and Google Chromecast. Google Cast is the streaming protocol, directly integrated into TVs (Sony, TCL, Philips, Hisense, etc.), soundbars (JBL, Sony, Denon, LG, Yamaha), and smart speakers (Nest, JBL, Marshall). It is a shared language that apps can use to send content.
Google Chromecast, on the other hand, is a hardware product launched by Google in 2013. It was originally a low-cost HDMI dongle that made any TV compatible with Google Cast. It was such a success that the term “Chromecast” has stuck in the collective imagination. Even today, many manufacturers claim that their TVs have an “integrated Chromecast”, when in fact they are Google Cast. It’s a misnomer, but one that illustrates the popularity of the original product. With the arrival of the Google TV Streamer, the device evolved into a true multimedia box, and the term “Chromecast” now seems destined to disappear.
Why use Google Cast?
To cast a YouTube or Netflix video
The most common scenario is undoubtedly casting a YouTube video. You launch a video on your smartphone, press the Cast icon (a small rectangle with waves), and your TV immediately takes over. Your phone then becomes a remote control: play, pause, fast forward or select another video. The process is identical with Netflix, Disney+, Canal+, Prime Video and Molotov.
To stream music from Deezer or Spotify
Regarding audio, Google Cast has been widely adopted by music streaming services. Spotify, Deezer, Qobuz and Tidal all integrate the function. The advantage is clear: you launch a song on your smartphone, then send it to a connected speaker or AV receiver. The music continues to play even if you turn off your phone screen or leave the house. In practice, Google Cast works a bit like Spotify Connect or Qobuz Connect, but it has the advantage of being universal and present in over 3,000 compatible apps.
For multi-room and home automation
Google Cast is also used in multi-room configurations. Via the Google Home app, you can group together several compatible speakers and broadcast the same music throughout the house. For example, you can create a “Living room + Kitchen” group and send your Spotify playlist to it. Synchronization is perfect, and you control the whole process by voice thanks to the Google Assistant.
Mirror mode
In addition to compatible apps, Google Cast also lets you reproduce the entire screen of a smartphone or tablet on a TV. This “mirror mode” is useful for presentations, mobile games or any app that doesn’t directly integrate the Cast function. On Android, the option is available in the notifications bar or in the connection settings. Samsung calls it Smart View, while Xiaomi calls it Wireless Display. Computers haven’t left out: the Google Chrome browser natively integrates the possibility of casting a tab or even the entire desktop.
Google Cast in a nutshell
Google Cast is a universal technology that simplifies the delivery of audio and video content to a connected TV, speaker or AV receiver. It’s based on the principle that the target device plays the stream directly, freeing the smartphone to act as a remote control. Confusion often persists between the Google Cast protocol and the Chromecast device, but the bottom line is that this technology has become a standard, similar to Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
In 2025, Google Cast is much more than a simple option integrated into TVs. It’s a universal gateway between our smartphones and our multimedia devices, adopted by almost all brands. Thanks to Cast, music and video flow freely from screen to screen, room to room, turning your phone into a universal remote control. Whether you want to launch a YouTube video, stream a playlist to a connected speaker or project a smartphone screen for a presentation, Google Cast make wireless broadcasting simple, accessible and reliable. A tool that has become essential for all those who consume digital content on a daily basis.
