Google Cast controls are now compatible with media player widget

Phone

Google Cast is among the best media casting protocols in the world right now, and it comes built into Android, Android TV/Google TV, and several soundbars and speakers. However, its controls weren't as seamlessly integrated with Android as they should have been. That's changing now, though.

Earlier, Google Cast media controls showed up as a regular notification, similar to any other app. It is now being reported that Google Cast controls now show up in the media player widget in smartphones running Android 13 (or newer version of Android). This means the media player widget in the quick settings toggle area will show what media is playing on a nearby Google Cast device. It will display media name, play/pause, previous/next, stop, and a progress bar with seek controls.

This control will also be visible on the lock screen, integrated into the same media player widget. The widget will also display which Google Cast-compatible device is being used to play media. You can even change the audio output. Instead of the streaming service's logo, a generic Google Cast icon is displayed on the top left of the media player widget.

This new feature is available on all Android devices running version 23.44.14 of Google Play services. So, if you are running this version of Google Play services and have a Google Cast-compatible device, such as a TV or speaker, in your home, you can now access media casting controls more easily on your phone.

Asif Iqbal Shaik - Senior Editor

[email protected]

First Samsung device: T100

Asif is a computer engineer turned technology journalist. He has been using Samsung phones since 2004, and his current smartphone is the Galaxy S21 Ultra. He loves headphones, mechanical keyboards, and PC hardware. When not writing about technology, he likes watching crime and science fiction movies and TV shows.

Phone Android 13 Android 14 Google Google Cast One UI 5.0 One UI 5.1 One UI 6.0

samsung galaxy s25 android 15 one ui 7 stackable widgets home screen

Google Cast controls are now compatible with media player widget

Asif Iqbal Shaik - Senior Editor

[email protected]

First Samsung device: T100

You might also like

Google may copy One UI to bring stackable widgets to Android

These are the two most common Samsung vulnerabilities on 220 million devices

Android's Theft Detection feature starts rolling out

Galaxy A53 gets Android 14 (One UI 6.0) update in India