Google officially announces native Cast integration into Chrome

Starting from the Chrome build 51, the Google Cast functionality is baked into the browser itself, with no need for the plug-in to be installed. Those using the functionality in the browser have noticed the feature which began to be available to users from early last month . Google has now officially announced that the Google Cast feature is built into Chrome. Google Cast is a way of mirroring the browser window on another screen, typically a television, to show slideshows, videos or other content.

Google Cast has dedicated hardware, called Chromecast and Chromecast Audio . Google has sold over 30 million of these dedicated Google Cast hardware devices till date. The casting function is integrated into third party devices as well, including smart televisions and smartphones. For websites that support Google Cast, a cast icon now appears automatically if the site is being browsed on a device connected to the same network as a cast ready device. This can range from viewing videos on a television using a mobile phone, or listening to web streaming services through speakers, while navigating the service through a browser window on a laptop.

Websites that do not have an integrated Cast functionality can also be mirrored on televisions, through the Cast button in the Chrome menu. The Cast functionality also now seamlessly works in other Google applications as well, for example Cast for Education. It is possible to mirror your screen in a group video chat on Google Hangouts. There is no need for setup or configurations for Casting feature now, and mirroring content in high definition is supported.