At CES 2024 this past weekend, Google announced several new updates to Chromecast, including TikTok compatibility for scrolling through videos on your TV, Fast Pair support for quicker Bluetooth connections and built-in Chromecast for new LG TVs this year.
Google's media streaming dongle, which was first released in 2013 and is built into some devices, allows you to cast video and audio from your smartphone, tablet and computer to your TV, speakers and other devices. All Google TVs, like the latest 2024 Hisense ULED Series and TCL Q Class, come with a built-in Chromecast.
Currently, there are over 220 million monthly active Google TV and other Android TV OS devices.
The announcement took place at CES, the annual trade show in Las Vegas, that serves as a platform for companies from across various tech industries to showcase their latest products and technologies. Want to read more about CES 2024? Check out the best things we saw at CES 2024 and 20 gadgets from CES 2024 you can buy right now.
Starting today, you can cast TikTok content, including live videos, from your phone and tablet to your Chromecast with Google TV dongle or TV with Chromecast built-in, like the TCL QM8 TV or the Hisense U8K ULED TV.
TikTok joins over 3,000 supported mobile apps in allowing you to stream directly via Chromecast from your Apple, Google, Samsung and other compatible phone and tablet.
Fast Pair, which allows you to quickly find and connect your nearby Bluetooth accessories to Android devices or Chromebook computers, is expanding to Chromecast with Google TV in the next month and other Google TV devices later this year.
If you want to quietly listen to TV without disrupting others in your home or want to improve your TVs surround sound, you'll soon be able to use Fast Pair. Simply place your accessory in pairing mode and with a single tap quickly connect your Bluetooth headphones or speakers.
In Google's world, the more devices with Chromecast built-in, the better, especially if you're someone who casts often and is looking for a new TV. This year, built-in Chromecast is coming to the 2024 LG TV series, including the just announced M4 OLED, which LG claims is the first TV with wireless video and audio transmission at up to 4K 144Hz.
Chromecast is also coming built-in to LG Hospitality and Healthcare, TVs you'll find at hotels and hospitals and on cruise ships fitness equipment. If you don't want to sign in to your third-party streaming app, like Netflix, you'll soon be able to stream movies and TV shows directly from your phone or tablet to any compatible LG TV.
If you're listening to a music or podcast on your phone and want to listen on your tablet instead, Google now allows you to easily cast what you're listening to on Spotify and YouTube Music from your compatible Pixel phone, like the Pixel 8, to your docked Pixel Tablet, but only when the two devices are near to each other.
These aren't the only things that Google announced at CES this week.