People immediately wanted Cast support when Android introduced the output switcher two years ago. On Android 13, this is finally happening, with YouTube Music being one of the first apps to list Chromecast devices in the output switcher.
This evening, one of our Android 13 devices (Pixel 7) running the stable QPR1 December release and YouTube Music began surfacing Chromecast devices alongside Bluetooth accessories in the output switcher. (We haven’t seen it in QPR2 Beta 1.)
This includes several Nest Hubs, Chromecast with Google TV, and Speaker Groups in our case. You basically get the same Cast list that appears inside apps, but with icons to go with it. Google appears to be emphasizing frequently used devices by changing the colour of the device symbol.
This capability is not yet widely available. Only YouTube Music (version 5.36.51) appears in the output switcher of the apps we tested on the aforementioned Pixel 7 (with Google Play services version 22.46.17), though this app-by-app approach was expected.
To improve Android’s cross-device experience, all streaming services and podcast players must support this. In the meantime, it did not appear with YouTube Music on any of the other phones we tested this evening.
Speaking of YouTube Music, the Now Playing screen now includes a prominent “Connect to [device]” prompt, which is pill-shaped with a colourful border and appears at the bottom of album artwork.
