Google has quietly rebranded the “Chromecast built-in” feature found in numerous streaming devices and TVs to “Google Cast”, reversing a decision it made back in 2016 to stop calling it by that name.
In 2016, Google phased out the use of “Google Cast” in favor of “Chromecast built-in”, which probably made sense at the time due to the widespread awareness of Chromecast devices among the public.
The Chromecast built-in feature has since become a staple of many TVs, with LG Electronics announcing that all of its 2024 webOS TVs will ship with the feature, as well as support for Google Home.
However, at the recent Google I/O developer conference earlier this month, Google revealed that it’s no longer referring to it by that name. When introducing an update to its Android Automotive platform, the company said “Google Cast (formerly Chromecast built-in) is coming to cars”.
The company has updated the branding on its Android.com website, and has created a new support article, as below:
Google Cast is a feature that enables multiscreen TV and audio experiences with speakers, and lets users mirror content from their smartphones or tablets onto a bigger display, such as a TV.
The company didn’t provide any reason for the change, but given that casting is now a well known, unambiguous capability that most consumers have heard of, it may well have decided it no longer needs to mention Chromecast to remind people of what it does. So, in that case, it’s probably better to insert its brand name, Google.
In terms of Google Cast’s latest functionality, no big updates were announced at I/O, but we can expect to see much more of the new icon on the packaging of devices that offer the feature.
