Files by Google will soon support Chromecast soon following the appearance of the feature in the latest beta version of the app. For clarity, that’s the publicly available beta that’s accessed near the bottom of the app’s Google Play Store listing. That means that users can now send files found in the app to their television or similarly-compatible smart display via Chromecast.
The integration works exactly as it does with Chromecast in other applications. When users are on Wi-Fi, a Chromecast icon will appear in the top bar of the UI. For Files by Google, that puts the button next to the app title and three-dot menu.
Tapping on the icon calls forward a separate panel showing any displays that are connected to the same Wi-Fi. Selecting one of those allows users to cast their files.
Why Chromecast from Files by Google?
Files by Google is, first and foremost, a file management application. As noted above, it’s explicitly designed to help users save space on devices that aren’t as well-specced as might be hoped. For devices with low storage and RAM, the app is an important one.
Those devices are typically not in use on unlimited data plans either. So the secondary purpose served by Files by Google is as a file-sharing program. As with the space-saving focus, in Files by Google, file-sharing is designed to have a minimal impact on a user’s resources. In this case, that means sharing files without burning through data allotments.
The addition of Chromecast support to Files by Google, while still in beta testing, fits in neatly with those two goals. First, because all of a user’s files are going to be discoverable there. The app acts as a central file hub for cleaning cache and storage partitions. Second, because casting media has become an integral part of the Android sharing experience.
Chromecast enables users to share images, memories, and other media with friends and family. It does that without forcing users to crowd around a screen or to hand over their device. Aside from any accidental clicks on files that weren’t intended to be shown to everybody, it gives the user more control over their sharing experience. So adding in casting abilities helps fill out the purpose of Files by Google.
Is there anything this won’t do?
Music files are reportedly the only type that doesn’t work over Chromecast through Files by Google in the latest beta. The cast icon still appears in the UI on the pages pertaining to those on the „Browse” tab. But the files themselves don’t seem to cast properly. It’s not immediately clear whether that’s a permanent thing or just a quirk of the current beta.
Clicking the Chromecast icon doesn’t show any connected smart speakers. So it may be that Google hasn’t added in all of the casting service’s capabilities and associated code yet.
App betas typically lead to rapid turnaround times between new features appearing and being finalized for full release. That was the case with the recently released 'dark mode’ for Files by Google too. So Chromecast support should be a part of the stable version of the Files by Google app in the near term, rather than later.
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Source: ndroidheadlines.com