Get the big-screen Scrabble experience with a little help from your Chromecast.Īmong the available games: Just Dance Now, Monopoly Dash, Scrabble Blitz, Alien Invaders (a crude Space Invaders rip-off), Simon Swipe (think Simon Says), Wheel of Fortune, and Pongcast. Once you cast a game to your TV, your phone or tablet will become a game controller. Most of the Chromecast-compatible apps you’ll find on Google Play or the Apple App Store are of the video- and music-streaming variety, but Google just unleashed a few dozen games that you can cast, too. That’s a Chromecast button, and it means that the particular app you’re using-examples range from Netflix and YouTube and Spotify and Pandora-is compatible with Chromecast. Tap the button to start casting with your Chromecast device.
See this button? If you find it in an Android or iOS app, that means the app can cast video to your Chromecast. Once you’ve got your Chromecast up and running, you may spot a new button popping up on your various Android and iOS apps-a rectangular button with a little wireless icon in the bottom-left corner. Keep an eye out for the Chromecast button However, in the short time between writing and posting the story, Apple updated iOS to add that feature. Just tap “Watch” to start the show.Įditor’s note: The original version of this article noted that iOS did not have voice search yet. When you tap a video in your search results, you’ll see a list of all the streaming services on which it’s available. Remember, you don’t have to restrict yourself to titles you can also search for actors and directors (“movies starring Clint Eastwood”) or for whatever esoteric category fits your current mood (“horror movies from the 90s”). Just open the Chromecast app, tap the microphone icon in the search box, then speak. Hankering for a bad horror flick from the 90’s? just tell the Chromecast app. You can easily customize what your Chromecast displays when you’re not actively casting videos, with your choices ranging from albums in Google Photos to snapshots in your Flickr account. When your Chromecast is idling on your TV, it’ll display an assortment of generic still images onto the screen-pandas, waterfalls, sea shells, you know the drill. Tap Name, then pick a new name for your Chromecast-say, “Ben’s Chromecast,” or “Living room Chromecast.” Customize the screensaver Just launch the Chromecast app, tap the Devices tab, then tap the Settings button (the one that looks like a gear) for the particular Chromecast you’d like the rename. Nope, your Chromecast doesn’t need to be named “Chromecast8922.” Tap the Settings button to give it a new name. Indeed, you can rename your Chromecast anything you want, particularly if you plan on having a couple of Chromecasts that you’ll need to tell apart. Your new Chromecast probably came out of the box with a name like “Chromecast8988,” but you can always call it something else.