Android 13 Output Switcher Adds Support for Chromecast Devices With YouTube Music: Report

Google has finally brought support for Chromecast devices to the audio switcher on Android 13. The tech giant reportedly enabled support for Chromecast devices while listening to audio on YouTube Music as a native part of the system audio switcher. The app is one of the first apps to get support for Chromecast devices in the output switcher, as per a report. Google introduced the output switcher two years ago with Android 11. The features allow users to quickly switch audio output without diving into their phone’s settings.

As reported by 9to5Google, YouTube Music on Pixel 7 phones running the stable Android 13 QPR1 December release has started showing Chromecast devices in the output switcher.

The report says that the Chromecast device list on YouTube Music included Nest Hubs, Google TV, and a few speaker groups, and that the tech giant is mainly highlighting frequently used devices by using a different colour for the device icon.

The new feature is yet to be rolled out widely to users and Pixel 7 users with version 22.46.17 of Google Play services can access this new Chromecast device list only on YouTube Music version 5.36.51 as per the report.

Back in October, the company’s Chromecast with Google TV received a firmware update to Android TV 12. The standalone streaming device from Google runs on Android TV software with the Google TV user interface on top. The software update had arrived with some improvements in the settings for HDR format and surround sound selection. The firmware carried build number STTE.220621.019.A2.9082754, with the software version Android TV 12.