Google casting could get an upgrade thanks to Pixel Tablet

News
By published

Future casting sessions could be initiated by proximity

Google Pixel Tablet
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Google casting can be a great way to get content from your phone onto a larger screen, but all the messing around with menus means it can be a little bit fiddly. It turns out Google may have a better way to do it, and it looks like the Pixel Tablet may be the first device to offer it.

This feature first popped up online a few weeks back, when Mishal Rahman discovered a setting that lets you initiate a casting session by holding your phone close to your Pixel Tablet. The specifics of how this works weren’t really clear, but now Rahman has returned with a more detailed look at how the process works.

The feature itself is referred to as “Hold close to cast”, and the specifics should eventually be found in the Devices & sharing section of the Settings menu. The feature involves holding your phone close to the Pixel Tablet to initiate the cast, provided they’re both on the same private Wi-Fi network.

'Private' being the crucial thing there, and it means this feature may not work if you’re using a public Wi-Fi network — such as ones you may find in a hotel or office. The menu also notes that this isn’t going to work with all media apps, presumably because this is a feature that may require developers to opt in and update their apps accordingly.

It’ll be interesting to see if this technology makes it to other devices in the near future, if only to make the process of casting a lot easier. Whether we’re talking about smart home hubs, tablets, TV screens or even Chromecast with Google TV, the idea of using proximity instead of menus to make the connection is very appealing.

The question is, how long it might take for this to roll out? Android Police speculates that the proximity-based part of this system is powered by the Pixel Tablet’s UWB chip. We’re starting to see flagship phones slowly gain UWB support, but asking for that from other devices, especially TV screens that people tend not to upgrade very often, is going to take some time.

But we can still hope, especially if the Pixel Tablet proves that it’s a valid alternative to the current menu-based casting process. But we’ll have to wait for that to roll out to users first to see whether the feature works as intended. 

Frankly, I can’t wait for the day when getting content from my phone or tablet onto a bigger screen is pretty-much seamless.

More from Tom's Guide

Tom Pritchard
Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.