Google has just revealed that its popular Chromecast dongle will soon receive a sizable feature boost. What's more, the streaming device will also receive a personalized user home screen. Here's what's in store for your living room.
Chromecast has grown rapidly since its debut last year. Its content partners have grown from just five initially into a stable of several dozen. With all of these new sources, finding what you want can be challenging. However, Google has just announced that it's working on an easier means of discovering shows and movies within its expanding content ecosystem.
Additionally, current requirement that the device controlling your Chromecast must be on the same Wi-Fi network as the dongle is being dropped. Anybody within range will be able to simply connect to the Chromecast without first having to log into the local network. You will, of course, have the final say in who can actually access your dongle.
The Chromecast home screen, which is currently just a rotating set of stock images, will also soon transform into a user-defined feed of images and content from your Google+ account. Think of it as a screensaver for your television. Also cool? You'll be able to ask your device "What's on my Chromecast?" to pull up a card with information about the onscreen image.
Most importantly, however, the Chromecast will finally receive full screen mirroring between your Android device and television. The "cast screen" button will soon be ubiquitous and hopefully devoid of the infuriating lag when casting anything but Google's approved set of streaming apps.
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