One of the biggest draws of Chromecast is its ability to easily push audio to your home audio system. Google is taking that one step further with the introduction of Chromecast Audio. From the sounds of it (no pun intended, or was it?), ease of use is going to be the main draw here. Mountain View says that Audio will support a standard 3.5mm auxiliary input, RCA jacks and an optical input. What’s more, it’ll mirror the audio of most Android devices — not just music, if that’s the sort of thing you’re into. Same goes for "any" music-streaming site’s output from your computer. Just like the rumors said, Chromecast Audio will support longtime holdout Spotify as well as Google Play Music, Deezer and the BBC iPlayer. Much like the original Chromecast made dumb TVs smart, the Audio version wants to do the same for the speakers you already own — a direct shot at companies like Sonos.
Setup doesn’t stray far from its forbearer, either. Download the app; plug the device into your speaker and a power source; connect your device and Chromecast to the same WiFi network; and you should be good to go. Oh, and it’ll support multiroom audio so you have "Blockbuster Night Part 1" by Run the Jewels playing throughout the whole house later this fall. Perhaps best of all, though, is that Chromecast Audio doesn’t change where it counts: The gizmo will cost $35 and work with Android, iOS, OSX, Windows and, of course, Chromebooks.
Get all the news from today’s Google event right here.
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