While Apple and Android devices have always suffered from compatibility issues, the separation between the two platforms has lessened over the years. For Apple TV users with an Android mobile device, a major gap in cross-platform compatibility has finally closed.
Key Takeaways
- Nearly a year after its launch, the Android mobile Apple TV app now allows casting to nearby devices.
- With Apple TV content previously only available to watch directly on Android phones, the latest update greatly expands flexibility.
- Users can start casting before or during playback, enabling seamless device switching mid-show or movie.
Apple only launched its Apple TV app for Android mobile in February of this year. Although a notable launch in general, the app arrived with some very clear limitations. The most notable of which was the lack of casting support.
This essentially meant that Apple TV subscribers could only stream Apple TV content on the Android mobile device the app was installed on.
That has now officially changed. Almost one year after the launch of the Apple TV Android mobile app, Apple has finally added Google Cast support.
The update became available late last week (Dec. 11) through the Google Play Store, arriving as version 2.2.0. Once updated to the latest version, Apple TV users will find the Cast icon and functionality has been added to the app.
As is typically the case with Google Cast in general, clicking on the Cast icon will open up an additional menu highlighting any nearby Google Cast-enabled devices.
Selecting one of these devices will then allow the Android mobile user to cast content directly from the Apple TV mobile app to the nearby Google Cast device.
Users can either establish the Cast connection after initially opening the Apple TV app and before selecting a title, or after starting playback.
The latter of which makes it possible to switch from a mobile device to a living room device and continue watching mid-way through a movie or episode.
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