In a new update that Google will be releasing soon, users will now have the ability to swap media sessions from their phones to any cast devices like television, smart display, and more.
LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 10: Google Home units and Google phones are on display at the Google booth during CES 2018 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 10, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs through January 12 and features about 3,900 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 170,000 attendees.
by Alex Wong/Getty Images
(Photo : Alex Wong/Getty Images)) LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 10: Google Home units and Google phones are on display at the Google booth during CES 2018 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 10, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs through January 12 and features about 3,900 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to more than 170,000 attendees.
Android 13 Audio Output Switcher
Based on a report from The Verge, there is a huge possibility that Google will make it easier for their users to cast devices using the audio output switcher in the upcoming update for Android 13. Currently, it only lets users switch from different devices through Bluetooth-compatible devices like wireless headphones and speakers.
Google described it as 'local-to-remote', 'remote-to-local', and 'remote-to-remote' transfers. Local is for devices that are powered by Bluetooth, while remote are cast devices.
Through this new update, users can seamlessly transfer media sessions from their phones to their smart display devices. For example, when a certain user is listening to a podcast from their phone and wants to share it with the group, they can transfer their listening sessions immediately by switching it from their phone to Nest Hub so that everybody in the room can hear what they are listening to.
Mishaal Rahman demonstrated the new features in a screen recording and posted it on YouTube. It shows that users can enable audio playback to multiple devices that are cast-compatible without unlocking their phones.
The convenience of not unlocking your phone or opening a certain application just to switch devices is what people want. As per Rahman, this update is long overdue as several people have been requesting to add it since when output switcher was introduced in Android 11. He added, "the good news is that this long-awaited feature is finally making a reappearance soon."
He also stated that he experienced some bugs when he was trying the new feature, which may be the reason why Google is still not announcing the new update, as it is still not finalized.
Android Central also reported last month that Android 13 now offers a line that will not be mixed up data from the users' work and personal life. Aside from this, Google Work profiles can now be experienced in a much smoother way, have now a minimalist design, and increase productivity.
Through corporate devices, customization based on employees' experience can be done, such as device provisioning and user settings. For the work and personal profiles, it separates the suggested data for other Google-related applications, like when using the YouTube app for personal use. Users will also have the option to have two galleries dedicated to work and personal use separately.
