Streaming apps take note: Google Cast now supports audio

Google is bringing the same technology that powers video on its popular Chromecast to the world of streaming audio. Soon, wireless speakers and soundbars will support Google Cast audio from Google Chrome and from a selection of audio-focused Android apps, including Rdio, Pandora, NPR One, and Google Play Music.

The feature puts Google Cast at parity with Apple’s AirPlay, which allows for streaming of audio and video from iOS products or Macs to speakers and Apple TV. Now, Android customers can seamlessly enjoy their music, video, and screensharing across all of their connected devices, and developers have new opportunities to be heard throughout the home.

Google Cast is powered by a simple one-click Cast button, which appears in a multitude of apps and in a browser extension for Google Chrome. With Android TV’s support for Google Cast, new set-top boxes like the Nexus Player will also support audio and video input wirelessly from Android and Chrome products on the same Wi-Fi network.

New Google Cast–ready speakers from partners like Sony and HEOS by Denon are anticipated to ship in the next few months, and offer a new platform for audio manufacturers to support beyond AirPlay or Bluetooth. Streaming audio over a Wi-Fi network allows for higher quality audio than Bluetooth typically supports, and enables a new class of high-end audio products from well known audio companies.

The new feature extends Google’s platform functionality to even more devices, following a trend that promises to bring Android everywhere in 2015. As both Apple and Google seek to encompass more and more connected products in the internet of things movement, AirPlay and Google Cast are their surest bets to own how we enjoy content and jam to our favorite music.